Heart of Steel
by WhiteRoseLeigh9099
Summary: Sakura Simmons and Steven Stone grew up best friends. However, when Sakura was four, her parents were murdered under mysterious circumstances, sending her to live with her godfather, Professor Sycamore. What happens when these two meet fourteen years later? What does Team Magma have to do with anything? Chapter 3 has been updated.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own anything but my OCs.

Author's Notes: At the time that Sakura challenged the Shalour City Gym, Korrina hadn't taken over yet. Also kudos to anyone who can guess what Pokémon will be in her egg. This will be mostly game based, I guess, with some anime elements added in just for the heck of it. Rated mostly for language. Have not decided whether or not I'm putting a lemon in here. I guess I'll put it to a vote. You guys tell me if I should put some fluff in this story. If you want to know what she looks like, just take a look at Yuuki Cross from Vampire Knight after she became a vampire, but with pink hair and blue eyes. This here is an updated Chapter 1. As far as I can tell, I've fixed the typos, but if you find another one, please tell me!

Chapter 1

A young girl, no more than eighteen with long bright pink hair that went to her down past her hips and sapphire blue eyes, sat by the window of her room on the second floor of the Sycamore Pokémon Lab in Lumiose City in the Kalos region. Her name is Sakura Simmons. She had been living in the Kalos region for fourteen years, ever since her parents were mysteriously killed when she was four. Afterwards she was sent to live with her godfather, Professor Sycamore, who'd adopted her officially only a year later. He had been one of her father's best friends, his brother in all but blood. As such when he died, her father made sure that she would be taken care of by sending her to the one person he could trust most outside of Sakura's mother.

Sakura's father had been the gym leader in the Petalburg City Gym but her mother had been a coordinator. It had been expected that she would follow in one of their footsteps, and she pretty much so had. Being raised among Pokémon, first at her father's gym and then at the research lab, she had learned quickly how to take care of them. They'd also learned that she could see and use aura. Once her godfather learned this, he cautioned her to tell no one of it, afraid that someone would try to use her against her will, and found her someone to teach her how to use her aura abilities. That person spent the next two years teaching Sakura how to control and use her abilities. Turned out, she was the strongest Aura Guardian since Sir Aaron. Her teacher, however, had not been an Aura Guardian themselves, but had had the tools to teach her about her abilities and what she could do with them but learning about control was something she had to do on her own. It wasn't difficult. All she really had to do was practice and meditate. It had helped her to stay calm during times of crisis.

When she'd been six, two years after her parent's death and a year and a half since she'd begun training with her aura abilities, she'd found an injured and unconscious Riolu on the outskirts of the city after feeling its pain and fear. She'd brought the little Emanation Pokémon back to the lab where everyone quickly worked on healing him, though it took three days for him to wake up. Sakura had not left his side for a minute and was asleep when he opened his eyes. But ever since, the two had been inseparable. Riolu had bonded with Sakura and was very protective of the girl. It was not long after that that the pair was sent off to the Shalour City Gym. While there, she trained under Gurrkin, the Gym Leader, alongside his granddaughter, Korrina, and her Riolu. Korrina was about two years younger than her. During the years that they trained together, Korrina had become not only her best friend but a sister in all but blood.

All the training she did with Riolu paid off and he eventually evolved into a Lucario. Sakura didn't formally start her journey until she was fifteen and half. But when she did, she'd originally planned on only travelling with Lucario, but a Fennekin that she had helped her dad to raise insisted on coming with her. They had become great friends, with Fennekin eventually evolving into Braixen, and then finally Delphox. She traveled from gym to gym, until she earned all eight badges, making new friends and catching new Pokémon along the way. One of her first captures had been an Absol that had challenged her to a battle not long after she left Lumiose City after having watched her and Lucario train together. She had been surprised to see her, due to the fact that they were, for the most part, found in Hoenn. Absol had become, along with Lucario, one of her most trusted and beloved Pokémon. Though don't misunderstand, she loved all of her Pokémon.

After her battle at the Santalune Gym with Viola, she found an Eevee being terrorized by some hikers. If there was one thing that would push Sakura over the edge more, it was someone hurting a Pokémon. She had quickly taught them a lesson, making them run away. Once she knew they were gone, she set about making sure that the Eevee was okay. Afterwards as she and Lucario made to leave, Eevee had followed, joining her on her journey. Much later, that Eevee evolved into Sylveon. Though eventually she caught every Eevee evolution as well as another Eevee. The last Eevee didn't want to evolve so she used an Everstone on him.

Once she reached the Shalour Gym, two months after her sixteenth birthday, she challenged her former mentor to a battle. It was a hard battle as Gurrkin knew her too well, though she did win. She stayed a few days to catch up with Gurrkin and Korrina before continuing on with her journey. During that time, he told her that he was going to turn the gym over to Korrina when she was fifteen, in less than a year. When she left though, Gurrkin handed her a box and told her not to open it until she left. Boy, was it a surprise when she opened it to reveal a Key Stone like the one Korrina wore on her hand, one of the components for Mega Evolution. Of course she knew what it was! Her dad was the only authority on what little is known about it!

There was also a note in the box that explained that he was giving this to her because he loved her as if she had been his own granddaughter and he trusted her with the responsibility as well as telling her where she might find some Lucarionite. In the note he also told her that she had to prove herself worthy of it. As they made their way there, she and Lucario continued training, both physically and with their aura. She sparred with Lucario using martial arts, keeping herself and her partner fit. She eventually made it to where Gurrkin had told her and earned the Lucarionite. She had it fashioned into a small glove for for Lucario's hand, similar to a fingerless glove, something that wouldn't hinder his ability to move while in battle when he wasn't Mega Evolved. For her Key Stone, she had it fashioned into a silver chain choker necklace that allowed the stone to lay at the hollow of her throat.

At first, Sakura's Lucario couldn't handle his aura during Mega Evolution, but after several weeks of hard training, Lucario got the hang of it. Watching her Pokémon become stronger made her extremely proud. She herself had grown stronger as well. She trained herself just as hard as she did her partners and it showed. Anyone who looked at her swore up and down that she was older. Not that she didn't enjoy that, but it became a hassle when she had older men flirting with her. Once she had the Lucarionite, Lucario decided to stay out of his Pokéball and that was just fine with her. She, in fact, enjoyed his company. They were, after all, Soul Partners. They'd found this out years ago when he'd woken up after he'd been unconscious. He'd taken one look at her and knew that she was meant to be his trainer. Their auras were a perfect match and it showed when they battled and their similar personality traits.

Once she earned all the badges she needed, though it took her about eight months, she trained for a little while longer before challenging the League. She came in second and that didn't bother her at all. After all, she could always try again some other year, after all, whoever beat the League won the right to challenge the Elite Four and if you beat them, then they could challenge Champion.

After the League, she continued traveling around the region and eventually found an Absolite, which she had fashioned into a necklace around her Absol's neck in a star pendant, as well as a Sail Fossil. She turned the fossil over to her dad who sent it to someone who could revive it. It turned out to be an Amaura. Though she adored her Amaura, she thought that it would be best if she stayed where she was as the facility was better equipped to take care of her than Sakura was, though the first time Amaura opened her eyes, Sakura had been there. Amaura absolutely adored her and was sad that she couldn't go with her, though Sakura visited her often to make sure she was being properly taken care of. During this time, she and Absol trained to control its Mega Evolution. Strengthening not only themselves, but their bond as well. Lucario would always be special to Sakura as he was her first, but Absol had been the first wild Pokémon that she'd ever caught and thus she had a special place in her heart as he did.

She remained friends with all of the gym leaders and spoke with them often. Valerie seemed to have taken over her fashion sense and always had a new dress for her, her favorite was one with a Sylveon pattern, and asked her several times to help model for her during a fashion show, which she happily complied, seeing it as a favor for a friend. She wore her Sylveon dress whenever she competed in a contest or a performance contest, which had been a fair few times. Viola gave her a camera that she took everywhere with her, and sent back pictures of every bug type that she met while she traveled. Clement made her a new backpack similar to his and whenever she visited, Bonnie begged her to let her take care of her Pokémon, which Sakura did with a fond smile. Another of the gym leaders, Wulfric, encouraged her to travel to another region and challenge the League there. She thought about it for awhile before deciding. She had been thinking about returning to the Hoenn region and trying find her friend Steven for awhile now but didn't know where to start.

Sakura and Steven's mothers had been friends as well as coordinators. They had many times brought the pair together for play dates. She even stayed with them when her parents had date night, which they had at least once a week. She wondered how he was doing. If he remembered her. But instead if going to Hoenn, she went first to Unova and after that Sinnoh, taking with her only Lucario and Absol, but bringing back others. She hadn't felt ready to face Hoenn at that time, no matter how badly she wanted to see Steven. She'd actually beaten the League in both Unova and Sinnoh and could have challenged the Elite Four and the Champions but she didn't feel ready for that. After all, she still considered herself somewhat of a rookie. It took her just over a year and six months for both regions as she'd hung around after the Leagues were over. She visited places and caught Pokémon that she'd missed during the first time around. She eventually caught all of the starter Pokémon from each region. Bonding with them all as only an Aura Guardian could.

She had met many interesting people during her travels, including the Champions for both regions and counted them as friends, especially Cynthia, who told the most amazing stories. She learned a lot about the history of Sinnoh from her. Cynthia had kept gushing about a friend of hers from the Hoenn region and telling her that she needed to meet him. At one point Sakura started teasing her that she had a crush on the poor man, but Cynthia had smiled and told her that he had been carrying a torch for someone from his childhood, even though he hadn't seen them in years, though she was fond of him and considered him one of her closest friends. That had made Sakura smile and she secretly wished him luck, though it made her heart ache.

It has been a month since she has returned from Sinnoh and she was happy to be back, though she was feeling the itch to travel again, as were Lucario and Absol. Sakura looked over at her night stand at the incubator with a yellow with a black spot Pokémon egg in it. When she'd got home, she'd found that egg forgotten by the gate. Once they made sure that the egg, as well as the Pokémon inside it, was unharmed, they tried finding an owner for it, but couldn't find anything, so the egg went to her since she found it. Sakura sighed and looked back out the window. It was early, no more eight o'clock. She and her Pokémon had just finished their morning training session as well as their mediation. Today was the day that she, Lucario, and Absol would be leaving for the Hoenn region.

Two weeks ago, on her eighteenth birthday, the professor, who she called Dad, had given her a ticket to get to the Hoenn region, telling her that it was time. The plane would be leaving at noon. She had been surprised but accepted that it was time. Time to go back home and find Steven.

HOSHOSHOSHOSHOSHOSHOSHOSHOSHOSHOS

An hour and a half later, her things, including several of the dresses that Valerie had made for her, especially her Sylveon print dress as she was planning on entering at least one contest, and the egg packed in the backpack that Clement gave her, Sakura stood in front of the lab with her ever faithful Lucario by her side, facing her dad, Sophie, and all of her Pokémon, saying goodbye. She hugged each of them and gave them a kiss on the head. As she stood before the man who had been like a father to her for the last fourteen years, tears pricked at her eyes. You'd think that she would be used to this by now, but leaving had never come easy. He smiled a sad smile as he pulled her into a hug while saying, "Take care of yourself, Sakura. Call often."

"I will, Dad. I'll call from the Pokémon Center as soon as I arrive," she replied before turning to Sophie and letting her pull her into a hug while saying, "Take care, Sophie. Look after Dad for me. Don't let him get so caught up in his research that he forgets to eat." Sophie laughed as her Dad grumbled about not needing a babysitter. She then turned to her Dad's Garchomp and said, "Keep an eye on things, Garchomp, I'm counting on you to look after the others." Garchomp beamed as he nuzzled her cheek while saying, "Gar, Garchomp, chomp!"

She then pulled away and said, "I have to go! Wish me luck!" as she ran out the gate, her loyal Lucario following after her. Once they were on the plane, she was so excited, though nervous at the same time. What if Steven didn't remember her? She shook her head and sighed, making Lucario look at her. She simply smiled at him while fiddling with the small package that was in her pocket. It was a present for Steven. In her travels, she'd found another Key Stone that she'd had fashioned into a stainless steel lapel pin and she'd thought that he'd like it, especially with his love of rare stones. Maybe he had a Pokémon that could Mega Evolve if he could find the appropriate Mega Stone.

It took several days to reach Slateport City. As soon as the plane landed, they went immediately to the Pokémon Center and put through a call to her dad, letting him know that they'd arrived safely and were about to leave to go see Professor Birch, one of her dad's colleagues, to drop off some research materials before moving on to register for the Hoenn League. Sakura was grateful when they'd left the city as soon as possible since several trainers had approached her about possibly trading Lucario, which annoyed both her and him more than anything. As if she would trade her oldest friend! A few days later, as they were approaching Little Root Town to see Professor Birch, she heard someone shout, "Someone help me, please!"

Sakura and Lucario shared a look and headed off towards the voice to find a man in a white lab coat, not unlike the one that her dad wore, pushing himself up against a tree as a dog like Pokémon growled at him. Pulling out the new Pokédex that her dad had given her when she'd left, though it was still a Kalos region Pokédex, she scanned the Pokémon as she'd never seen one before.

 _"Poochyena, the Bite Pokémon. Its biting strength is superior to other Pokémon, and has the endurance to chase opponents down until completely exhausted. This Poochyena is male and has the ability Quick Feet."_

She then looked at Lucario and ordered, "Aura Sphere!" Lucario put his hands together, creating a sphere of blue aura energy, and threw it at Poochyena, knocking it out as she threw a Pokéball at it. But she didn't stay to find out whether or not she caught him, Sakura grabbed the man's hand and dragged him away, Lucario following shortly after. Once they stopped, the man caught his breath and said, "Oh, thank you! I have no idea what would have happened if you hadn't come along." Sakura smiled at him and replied, "Not a problem, sir, we were glad to help. Um, are you Professor Birch?"

The man nodded and said, "You must be Sakura. I've been expecting you." He then led her to his lab where he had her drop off the materials from her dad, where Lucario handed her the Pokéball containing her new Poochyena. While they were doing that, one of the Pokéballs on the table burst open and a small red and orange bird Pokémon appeared, staring at her as if looking into her soul. Pulling out her Pokédex, Sakura scanned the little one.

 _"Torchic, the Chick Pokémon. Torchic sticks with its Trainer, following behind with unsteady steps. This Pokémon breathes fire of over 1,800 degrees Fahrenheit, including fireballs that leave the foe scorched black. Torchic is one of three Pokémon new trainers can choose from in the Hoenn region. This Torchic is female and has the ability Blaze."_

Torchic tilted her head to the side and said, "Tor, Torchic," before walking over to Sakura and nuzzled her head against Sakura's leg. Professor Birch sighed and handed Sakura her Pokéball while saying, "It seems as though that Torchic has taken a liking to you. She's a difficult one. You're the first trainer that she's taken active interest in and she's getting too big to give to a new trainer as a starter. Now that we're done, you should go ahead and take her with you as she won't listen to anyone else." She smiled down at her and asked, "Would you like to come with me, Torchic?"

"Tor! Torchic!" she cried out happily as she jumped into her arms, making Sakura and the professor laugh. After thanking Professor Birch for his help, Sakura recalled Torchic back into her Pokéball and headed out. They made it to Oldale Town by nightfall. As she laid down on her bed in the Pokémon Center, where Nurse Joy helped her to register for the Hoenn League, she smiled, hope blossoming in her chest. Along the way, Sakura had been able to get some training in with Torchic and Poochyena and they both showed great promise. Poochyena, however, wasn't very happy at first until she'd used her aura to soothe his distrust of her and allowing him to see inside her heart.

Currently Torchic was curled up in top of her hip, while Lucario was sitting on the other side of her bed. Absol and Poochyena had fallen asleep on a cushion next to the bathroom door. Sakura fell asleep with a smile on her face, thinking of Steven, wondering where he was, how he was doing. She hoped he was okay. Smiling she shook her head and closed her eyes, her last thought, _"Steven."_

Meanwhile miles away, a young man, about nineteen years of age, with silver hair opened his slate blue eyes and looked around the room at the Pokémon Center where he'd been staying. He could have sworn he'd heard someone saying his name. Shaking his head, he went back to sleep when he saw no one.

HOSHOSHOSHOSHOSHOSHOSHOSHOSHOHOS

Sighing happily as she and Lucario headed out of Oldale Town after her early morning training and mediation, and things were going great with Poochyena and Torchic, since they took to her training like a Magikarp to water. Once they'd eaten breakfast, they decided to head towards Rustboro and the first gym, but on her way out of town, she stopped when she was approached by a man wearing a lab coat who asked, "Excuse me, Miss? You wouldn't have happened to see a Shroomish, have you?" Pulling out her Pokédex and looking up the Pokémon in question, she shook her head and the man looked sad, until they were approached by a man wearing a red outfit with an M on the chest who said, "There you are, you stupid scientist! I was waiting for you!" Now hand over the goods!"

As Sakura watched, the scientist shrank back in fear, her face changed and her eyes grew cold as she stepped into the jerk's path while saying, "If you want to hurt this man, you're going to have to get through me!" The man sneered and growled, "You don't want to get involved in Team Magma's business, little girl."

Scowling from being called a little girl, she thought, _"Team Magma? What the hell is Team Magma?"_ Lucario the spoke in her mind, _"I do not know, Mistress, but I have a feeling that we're bound to find out."_ As soon as he'd evolved, Lucario had taken to calling her Mistress whenever she gave an order and nothing she did could get him to stop, so she just gave up after awhile instead of wasting her energy. When she turned back, the jerk growled as he let out a Poochyena. Sakura sighed, feeling terrible for the poor Pokémon. The jerk then ordered, "Poochyena, use Bite!"

I sighed and ordered, "Lucario, dodge and use Bone Rush!" She wanted to get this over with quickly, so that the poor Pokémon wouldn't suffer. The little dog ran towards Lucario, who moved faster than the eye could blink, then he put his hands together, creating a long bone which he then swung and knocked Poochyena into a wall, knocking it out. The man growled as he returned his Pokémon and said, "You going to regret messing with me, little girl, I'll still get the goods in Rustboro," and disappeared. Sakura didn't reply as she turned and asked the man behind her if he was alright. He nodded and replied, "Yes, thank you so much for your help," he then went ashen as he asked, "He said Rustboro, didn't he?" Sakura replied with a nod and he panicked, apologizing as he ran off saying something about needing to warn someone.

Sakura simply shrugged her shoulders and they continued on. They ended up spending the night in the forest and made it into the city the next morning with little trouble as she and Lucario continuously flared their auras, keeping the weaker Pokémon from attacking them. Though they did get a few challengers, but they were quickly dealt with thanks to Torchic and Poochyena. The first thing they did when they got into the city was go to the Pokémon Center. As they went, they passed by the Devon Corporation, Sakura paused. She knew that Steven's father owned it, but she also knew that she couldn't just go on in and ask to see him, even if he was there. They'd think she was crazy and she'd more than likely would get arrested. Not something she wanted to do.

Sakura sighed and continued on to the Pokémon Center, where she asked Nurse Joy to take a look at her Pokémon. She smiled and took their Pokéballs, but before she left, she asked, "You're Sakura Simmons, aren't you?" Surprised, Sakura nodded and Nurse Joy continued, "Then I have a message for you. Your father wants you to call him." Sakura looked confused and went to find a video phone. Before long, her father's face came on the screen and he said, "Ah, Sakura, you got my message."

"Yeah, Dad, what's wrong? Did something happen?" she asked. He sighed and replied, "It's your Furfrou."

"What about Furfrou, Dad? Is he okay? He's not sick, is he?" she asked panicking, her heart in her throat. Furfrou was one of the Pokémon that she had caught after the Kalos League. She had saved him from an abusive trainer. The trainer had been beating on Furfrou because he had lost a battle when Sakura and Lucario stepped in. Before he left, Furfrou's former trainer had smashed Furfrou's Pokéball, releasing a severely hurt Furfrou. Sakura had then taken Furfrou to the Pokémon Center. She'd stayed with him as he recovered and told Officer Jenny what had happened as well as giving her a description of the trainer. The trainer had had all of his Pokémon confiscated and his trainer's license revoked as well as serving jail time.

Furfrou had decided to travel with Sakura. It had been a long and hard journey to gain Furfrou's trust and loyalty, but it had been worth it when Furfrou had started listening to her. He was one of her most loyal partners and she loved him dearly. Her dad quickly reassured her, "No, no, Furfrou is just fine. Unless you count being sad and depressed. He misses you. I'm thinking of sending him to you for day or two. Do you still have room in your party for him?" The pink haired girl sighed in relief and nodded. To tell the truth, she missed Furfrou too. Her father smiled and told her to expect Furfrou shortly.

As she hung up the phone, Nurse Joy called her name. When she approached the desk, Nurse Joy told her that her Pokémon were in excellent health and also handed her Furfrou's Pokéball. She immediately called him out. As soon as he was released, Furfrou jumped onto her, knocking Sakura over, making her laugh as he licked her face as he cried out happily, "Fur, Furfrou!"

"Okay, okay, buddy, I missed you too," she said, giggling as she got up. She then clipped the rest of her Pokéballs to her belt and headed out, Lucario and Furfrou flanking her, Furfrou's tail wagging happily as they went. They received many glances and stares. She realized that it was because of Furfrou. Since Furfrou were only found in the Kalos region, no one in Hoenn had seen one unless they'd been to Kalos, which she doubted many had as it was a little unknown. As they went into the Rustboro Gym, Sakura called out, "Hello? Is anyone here?"

"Are you a challenger?" a woman asked with burgundy colored hair when she appeared before her. Sakura nodded as she replied, "I'm Sakura Simmons from Lumiose City," as she held out her hand. The woman took her hand and shook it and replied, "I'm Roxanne, the Rustboro Gym Leader," and thought a moment before asking, "Where's Lumiose City?" Sakura kindly explained that it was in the Kalos region, which made Roxanne smile.

Sakura smiled back as they took their places on the field, Lucario sitting in a meditative pose over her right shoulder and Furfrou laying down next to her to watch the battle, as the ref spoke, "This is a match between Rustboro Gym Leader, Roxanne, and the Challenger, Sakura Simmons of Lumiose City. This will be a two on two match. The victor will be decided when either side's Pokémon are unable to battle. Furthermore, only the Challenger may substitute Pokémon. Release your Pokémon."

"Geodude, I choose you!" Roxanne cried out, releasing her Geodude. Taking one of her Pokémon's Pokéball, Sakura said, "Torchic, come on out," releasing her brand new Torchic who had grown a lot stronger in just the two days that she'd been with her. In truth, she could have started off with Lucario. He'd have had the advantage here, but she wanted to get some battling experience for Torchic.

"Battle begin!" called out the ref. Roxanne ordered her Geodude to use Rollout. Sakura told Torchic to dodge using Quick Attack and to follow up with Heat Wave, which she'd been surprised that she could use. As Geodude approached, Torchic disappeared in a burst of speed, while sending out waves of fire at the rock type. Geodude was able to hold on, but was greatly weakened and was slow because of it. Seeing this, Sakura decided to have Torchic try out the new move that she'd been teaching her and that she'd just mastered, so she ordered, "Torchic, use Fire Spin!" Torchic complied and began rolling at Geodude, wreathed in flames. Roxanne ordered it to dodge, but it was too slow as Torchic smacked Geodude into the wall. When the dust cleared, it was obvious that Geodude had feinted. The ref then said, "Geodude is unable to battle. Torchic is the winner!"

Sakura was smiling proudly at Torchic when she began glowing with a bright light. Being a seasoned trainer, Sakura knew that Torchic was evolving. Once the glow disappeared, it revealed a bipedal, chicken-like Pokémon. Most of its upper body was yellow, while most of the lower body was orange. An orange, pointed design adorns the center of its waist at the dividing line of the two colors. It had orange eyes, and short, wide beak. There was a feather crest on top of its head with three orange points. This crest on its chest was small. Its tail was short and pointed. It had three, sharp claws at the ends of its long arms, and scaly, gray legs with well-developed thighs covered in shaggy yellow feathers. Pulling out her Pokédex, she scanned it.

 _"Combusken, the Young Fowl Pokémon, and the evolved form of Torchic. Its quick, powerful kicking legs can deliver as many as 10 kicks per second. This Combusken is female and has the ability Blaze. Upon evolution, Combusken has learned Double Kick, Flame Charge, Sky Uppercut, and Flamethrower."_

Sakura smiled brightly at her Combusken and said, "That's great, Combusken! Do you want to continue or do you want a break?" Combusken grinned as she turned back to the field and prepared for battle as Roxanne released her Nosepass. Once the call for battle to resume, Roxanne ordered it to use Rock Tomb. Getting an idea, Sakura ordered, "Combusken, jump on top of the rocks, then use Flamethrower." Combusken jumped on top of the rocks as they fell, making her way towards Nosepass and released a stream of fire at Nosepass. She hit Nosepass, but Roxanne ordered it to use Rock Throw which knocked Combusken back into the opposite wall. When the dust cleared it showed that Combusken had feinted. She realized that she had probably been a little worn out from fighting Geodude.

Sakura sighed as she returned Combusken. She then looked at Lucario and simply said, "Go." Lucario jumped from the platform and onto the field. Roxanne, who had begun to look smug, paled a little bit, since she'd never seen a Lucario and didn't know what it was capable of. Once the battle was restarted, Sakura ordered, "Use Force Palm, Lucario!" Lucario's hand began to glow and when be hit Nosepass, it sent it flying back. It then retaliated with Rock Throw, but it was tired from battling first Combusken and now Lucario. Before Roxanne could order another attack, Sakura called out, "Aura Sphere!" Lucario complied and sent a sphere of aura energy at Nosepass, causing it to fly into the wall behind it.

"Nosepass!" Roxanne cried out worriedly. When the dust cleared, it revealed that Nosepass had feinted. The referee sighed and called out, "Nosepass is unable to battle. Lucario is the winner. The victory goes to Sakura Simmons of Lumiose City!" Sakura sighed happily. Pride infused her being and she made sure that her Pokémon felt it. Lucario turned and grinned at her before returning to her side as Furfrou nuzzled his head against her hip. She smiled down at him before recalling him to his Pokéball.

Roxanne then came over and congratulated her before presenting her with the Stone Badge. Sakura smiled as she put her very first Hoenn badge into her badge case. She then bowed to Roxanne as she said, "Thank you for the battle." Then she turned and walked back out of the gym, intending on going back to the Pokémon Center, however, as she passed by the Devon Corporation, she saw the same scientist that she'd helped out the day before, shouting after the same man that she defended him against. Walking up to the scientist, she asked, "What's going on?"

The scientist jumped in surprise but relief showed on his face when he saw that it was her and replied, "A thief has made off with some goods that were meant to go to Slateport City and I can't go after him as I don't have a Pokémon." Understanding lit up Sakura's features and she said, "Say no more, sir, leave it to us," and she took off with Lucario on her heels. She followed the thief to an entrance to some kind of tunnel system, where she found an older man, crying that his Peeko had been stolen. Rage bursting through her heart, she ran into the tunnels after the thief. She was finally able to get ahead of him. Lucario stood at her side as she released Absol, deciding to let Combusken rest some more.

Once he turned the corner, she heard him growling, "Why did I take this stupidly weak Pokémon?!" When she heard that, Sakura's expression went darker and a scowl made its way onto her face. If there was one thing that her biological father taught her before he died, it was that no Pokémon was weak. They all grew as humans grew. She had taken that principle and applied it to her training strategies for her partners. And look at her Goodra. Everyone in Kalos believed that Goomy, Goodra's unevolved form, was weak, but with the right care and enough love, Goomy can eventually evolve into a very powerful Goodra.

As he came towards her, she cleared her throat and he finally noticed her. His scowl then matched hers, though his face was slightly pale, as he growled, "Get out of my way, brat. Don't mess with the business of Team Magma." Sakura simply raised and eyebrow as she thought, _"Team Magma again? What in the name of everything that is holy is Team Magma? Lucario, what the hell have we gotten ourselves into?"_ She asked him that because she knew he'd hear and she was proven right when he replied, _"I do not know, Mistress, but it appears that he's getting agitated."_

And, indeed, he was as he'd released a orange lobster Pokémon. Never having seen it before, she scanned it with her Pokédex.

 _"Corphish, the Ruffian Pokémon. Corphish uses its sharp pincers to capture prey. It can happily live even in very polluted waters. This Corphish is male and has the ability Shell Armor."_

Sakura simply raised her eyebrow higher as the man ordered Corphish to use Water Gun. She sighed and replied, "Really, that's supposed to intimidate us? Absol, use Shadow Ball." Absol created a ball of dark energy and launched it right at Corphish, the impact making Corphish crash into the wall behind it, knocking it out. The man growled as he returned Corphish, dropped the stuff and the little bird Pokémon, and ran off. Sakura sighed as she petted Absol's head and told her, "Thank you, my friend, I am proud of you." She purred happily as her trainer returned her. Lucario picked up the Devon goods while she dealt with Peeko.

At first little Peeko, who she found out was a Wingull, didn't want her to touch him, but when she flared her aura, he let her pick him up. Once he was in her arms, she began making soothing noises, which calmed him greatly. As she emerged from the tunnels, the old man approached her, crying, while saying, "Thank you, miss, thank you! You saved Peeko!" Sakura smiled as she returned the the little bird. The man introduced himself as Mr. Briney and told her that anytime she need to a ride on a boat, he'd take her anywhere, free of charge.

Sakura smiled again and thanked him before saying goodbye. She along with Lucario, who was carrying the stolen goods, headed back to the Devon Corporation. When he saw her, he cried out, "You did it! You got them back! Oh, thank you!" Someone came and took the parts from Lucario as another person came and told Sakura that the president wanted to see her.

As they led her upstairs, someone asked her if her Pokémon needed healed and she gratefully accepted. She told Lucario to go too, though he was reluctant. As she stood in front of the door, Sakura had to take a deep breath before entering. When she did, she saw someone she hadn't seen in fourteen years. Steven's father hadn't aged much at all. As she walked towards his desk, she noticed a picture of a younger Steven hugging a younger version of herself with big smiles on their faces. Seeing it brought a tear to her eye, but she was able to hold it back.

When Mr. Stone saw the girl who had saved the parts that had been stolen, he was shocked. It felt like he'd been taken back about fourteen years. He knew exactly who she was as she was the spitting image of her mother. There she stood, her long pink hair halfway pulled back, her bangs slightly in her ocean blue eyes with two locks of hair framing the front of her body, wearing a red tank top dress with a pink pleated skirt that came down to just above her knee, a Pokébelt hanging loosely around her hips, with red thigh high socks along her slim, though toned, figure with a pair of black walking shoes. The girl worked out and it showed. She also wore pink fingerless gloves. Looking at her, she would be about the same height as his son, a trait she inherited from her father no doubt. The daughter of his dearest friends had finally returned home.

He couldn't wait to tell his son. Steven had never really been the same after Sakura left. He had given him his Beldum as a means of distracting his son from her absence, though he'd never truly forgot her. He had never dated anyone, no matter how many offers he'd received, and when he'd asked, Steven had bluntly told his father that they weren't **her**. At the tender age of three, Sakura Simmons had, unknowingly, stolen the heart of Steven Stone and still had it to this day. He never even considered anyone else, not even the Sinnoh Champion, who had been lovely. He knew that if she hadn't have returned now, Steven would have gone and searched for her. He had known that with how protective, or in many respects possessive, of her his son had been, that one day he'd have her for a daughter in law. He couldn't have been more pleased with his son's choice, though he hoped he wouldn't be disappointed.

"Hello, Mr. Stone. It has been a long time, hasn't it?" she spoke. Sakura could tell that he was lost in the past as she had been when he replied, "Fourteen years. Look how you've grown. You look like your mother." She smiled sadly at that as her dad told her that all the time, never realizing that it only made her miss her mother more, but he didn't leave her to ponder it long as he continued, "I hear we have you to thank for the return of our stolen property."

Sakura blushed as she answered, "Yes, but I was only doing what I thought was the right thing." He smiled at that and gave her a PokéNav which he told her was his latest design and programmed his number in it. She blushed, knowing exactly how much things like that cost. She was after all a rather budget conscious person. She had accrued a pretty good nest egg from her battling, from having hardly touching her earnings. He then asked her to deliver a letter to his son in Dewford Town, which she eagerly accepted, excited to see her oldest and dearest friend again, for she had missed him greatly. He also asked her to deliver the parts that she'd saved to a Captain Stern in Slateport, which she also accepted as it was on her way. Her Pokémon were returned to her and he was surprised to see that she had a Lucario, as well as how protective of her the Pokémon was. They seemed to share a rather unique bond. It was like watching his son with his Beldum. He just shook his head as she was shown out of the building. He had a call to make.

Meanwhile in a cave on a far away island, the young man with the silver hair answered his PokéNav when he saw that it was his father.

"Yes, Father?" His father quickly apprised him of the situation that had happened with the theft. What really caught his attention was what he said next.

 _"But we don't have to worry about it. A young trainer and her Lucario retrieved the items and we have them back in our possession. As it was on her way, I've asked her to deliver the parts to Captain Stern in Slateport."_ The man made a small noise in the back of his throat, but it sounded annoyed. His father sighed and continued, _"What was interesting was who the trainer was that retrieved our items."_

"Who, Father?" Even to him, he sounded bored, though inside he was raging that someone had stolen from his father. They may not talk much anymore, but they were still close.

 _"It was Sakura, Steven. Sakura was the one who brought the items back."_ Steven's heart began pounding in his ears at the sound of the name of the one person in the world that meant everything to him. The one person he would actively destroy the world to protect. Her name had been etched on his heart since childhood. It had broken his heart when she'd moved to Kalos, even if it wasn't her wish to go. He had missed her greatly. In an attempt to distract him from his beloved's absence, his father had given him Beldum and it had worked, up to a certain point. He had accomplished much and become a rather strong trainer in hopes of finding her one day. He thought of her several times a day, wondering how she was, what she was doing. Hoping to the skies and back that she didn't have a boyfriend. It took him several moments to answer as he said with a shaky voice, "She's here? In Hoenn?"

 _"Yes, right here in Rustboro. From what I gather, she was returning from her gym battle when she noticed the theft taking place,"_ his father replied. Steven was about to get up and start packing, but then his father then explained about the errand he'd asked of her. That she was coming his way anyway as she'd won her gym battle. After a few more minutes of conversation, they hung up and Steven sat back, trying to remember exactly what his Sakura looked like. He knew it wouldn't help much as she was older and so was he. He'd bet his last Pokédollar that she was gorgeous. A satisfied smirk made it's way on to his face. His beloved had returned and he'd be damned if she left him again.

HOSHOSHOSHOSHOSHOSHOSHOSHOSHOSHOS

Sakura was woken in the middle of the night to a loud beeping sound. Recognizing the sound as the alarm on her incubator, which was sitting on the table next to her bed, she knew her egg was hatching. She jumped out of bed, startling the others, as she quickly grabbed the incubator and ran out of the room, calling for Nurse Joy, who once she realized what was happening, jumped into action.

In a safe room, much later, the egg had been removed from the incubator and Sakura had a pink Love Ball in her hand, waiting for the egg to hatch. Soon the glowing stopped to reveal a small rodent Pokémon with pale yellow fur. Its eartips, collar, and tail were black and angular. It had cute pink patches on its cheeks and its tiny nose looks like a dot. This Pokémon could be classified as a quadruped, but it could walk easily on its hind legs. Pulling out her Pokédex, Sakura scanned the little baby Pokémon.

 _"Pichu, the Tiny Mouse Pokémon. Despite their size, Pichu release bursts of electricity that can shock even humans. However, Pichu are unskilled at controlling their electricity, and sometimes release it by accident when surprised, or when laughing and shock themselves. This Pichu is female and has the ability Lightening Rod."_

Looking up, Sakura met Pichu's eyes. For a few moments, they just stood there staring at each other until a big smile slid across Pichu's face and she jumped into Sakura's arms, exclaiming, "Pichu, Pi!" This made Sakura laugh as she said, "I'm very happy to meet you, Pichu. I'm Sakura." Pichu simply nuzzled her face against Sakura's shoulder while making happy sounds. Sakura gently pushed her away so that Nurse Joy could examine her. It didn't take long before the nurse proclaimed Pichu to be in perfect health.

She then instructed Sakura on Pichu's diet for the next couple of weeks and advised her not to use Pichu in battle for awhile. Having caught Pichu, she walked out of the room with her empty incubator, which she wanted to keep just in case, and Pichu on her shoulder, nuzzling against her neck. As she walked into her room, she noticed that her other Pokémon were awake and waiting for her. She smiled at them as she brought Pichu into her arms and said, "Everyone, I'd like you to meet Pichu, the newest member of our family." The others came over one by one and introduced themselves, eager to meet the little baby. It wasn't much longer that everyone was back in bed, curled up even closer than before.

The next morning after they'd finished their early morning training and mediation as well as gotten something to eat, Sakura wearing the opposite dress to the one she'd worn the day before with pink thigh high socks, her Pokébelt loosely around her hips, with Lucario by her side and Pichu on her shoulder, went to go get Mr. Briney to take her to Dewford Town. While they were sailing, she called her dad and had him register her number after telling him what had happened the afternoon before. While he admonished her for putting herself in danger, he praised her for doing what she felt was right. She then introduced him to Pichu, jokingly calling him Grandpa. He didn't find it as funny as she or Sophie did, but he was glad that Pichu had hatched and was doing fine. Once she was done with that, she played with Pichu for awhile. The little Pokémon adored her and loved simply sitting on her shoulder, where she eventually curled up for a nap.

They reached Dewford Town within two days. During that time, she'd called Korrina as well as all the other Kalos gym leaders and had them register her number, so that they could talk more easily and often. This made them all, especially Korrina, very happy because they liked to check in on her progress from time to time. She went to the Pokémon Center and got herself and her team something to eat. As she sat there and ate, she thought about where to look for Steven. She knew her friend had been a rare rock fanatic when he'd been little and continued that trait to this day, thanks to his dad letting it slip. She overheard people talking about the Granite Caves and how they'd found some rare stones there. That was when she knew she'd find him there.

So she got directions, made sure that she had a flashlight, extra batteries, plenty of water, and off she went in search of her friend, and though she'd never tell him, her childhood crush. She knew she still had a little bit of a crush on Steven, but she also knew that that was when they were kids. They were older now and feelings changed. There was no guarantee that Steven even remembered her. It would be a miracle if he did.

As she walked around the caves, she found then beautiful, though one thing she couldn't stand was the dark but there was nothing for that. It seemed that Pichu was like her since she had to recall her to her Pokéball. It was a cave after all. Before long, she and Lucario came upon Steven bending over a collection of stones that he'd found, completely ignoring his surroundings. Fourteen years and she was being ignored for rocks! The indignity of it.

Silently laughing, she looked at Lucario and put a finger to her lips in the universal sign for quiet. She silently crept over and stood behind him, looking over his shoulder at the stones that he'd found. He had a pretty nice set, but she felt that she'd been ignored long enough, so out of the blue, she said, loudly, "I guess they call you Stone for a reason," making him jump about a foot in the air and fall on his behind. Sakura started laughing so hard, her ribs were hurting and tears formed in her eyes.

Steven stood up and said,"Oh, very funny." As he dusted himself off, he took in her appearance. She was the same height as him. Her bright pink hair was long and down past her hips, partially held back by a butterfly barrette clipped onto the back her head with two locks of hair falling forward over her front, her bangs hanging slightly in her eyes and framing them. Her heart shaped face, small nose, and rose pink cupid's bow mouth. She was wearing the same dress, but the top was sky blue and the skirt a soft navy, with sky blue thigh high socks. There were soft navy fingerless gloves on her hands. She hadn't changed all that much, yet there was maturity in her eyes and confidence in her stance. As he was looking her over, Sakura nodded, with a huge grin on her face, and said, "Yes, it was hilarious." He just scoffed before grinning and pulling her into his arms and holding her tightly for several moments before saying, "I missed you." Sakura wrapped her arms around him in return and replied, "I missed you too."

They stayed like that for awhile before he pulled away and she handed him the letter that she'd been asked to deliver. They sat around and talked for awhile until a wild Aron appeared. He was staring at Sakura, a challenge in his eyes. Sakura stared back, her gaze unwavering. Reading his aura, she could feel that he was looking at her as a potential trainer, a trainer that could help him grow to be as strong as he wished to be. She stood up, making Steven look at her, as she spoke, "You wish to challenge me, don't you, Aron?"

"Aron!" he cried out, moving into a battle ready stance. Sakura smiled and said, "I thought so. Lucario," Lucario then startled Steven by appearing in front of her, faster than his eyes could keep up with. Then she continued, "Lucario, use Blaze Kick!" Lucario made a sound as he ran towards Aron and kicked him, his foot flaming. Before Aron could retaliate, Lucario was far away, awaiting his mistress's next order. Aron then moved in for a Headbutt, but Sakura ordered, "Dodge and use Aura Sphere!" Lucario then threw a sphere of aura energy at Aron, which knocked it over. Sakura the threw a Pokéball at Aron, who disappeared inside it. It shook for a few moments before dinging, signaling a successful capture.

"I see you made a new friend," Steven joked. Sakura smiled brightly and replied, "I seem to make friends wherever I go."

"Somehow that doesn't surprise me," he answered. They then spoke for a little while longer before she asked, "Are you done here or can you come with me?" He nodded and began packing his things. As it was lunch time, they headed back out to the Pokémon Center. Once they got there, Sakura dropped off Aron with Nurse Joy to make sure he was alright and then they went to get something to eat. As they ate, he asked her about her adventures. She told him practically everything, from when she'd found Lucario to defeating the Sinnoh and Unova Leagues. He was surprised at that, because Cynthia had told him about a young woman that she'd met that had great promise, who'd defeated the League, but hadn't felt ready for the Elite Four or the Champion, stating that she wanted to get some more experience under her belt before she did so. It amazed him to think that Cynthia had been talking about Sakura the whole time and he'd never caught on. The thought made him smile as Cynthia had never told him the name of the young woman that she was speaking of.

They decided to wait until the next day for her to challenge the Dewford Gym. Before going to bed that night, she sent Furfrou to her father that night since he was starting to miss the rest of their friends. Both she and Steven went to bed that night happier than they'd been in a long time.

HOSHOSHOSHOSHOSHOSHOSHOSHOS

Sakura's Current Party (In Order of Capture)

1\. Lucario

2\. Absol

3\. Poochyena

3\. Combusken

4\. Pichu

5\. Aron


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I own nothing but my OCs.

Author's Notes: Telepathy, flash backs, Pokédex entries, and thoughts are in italics. Also, I'm sure technically Steven already had a Key Stone at this point, but in my story, he doesn't. Also, I have no idea if Pichu can actually learn Volt Tackle, so I'm improvising. This is the last chapter that I have completed so it will be a bit before I update it again. This is an updated Chapter 2. I found a few errors that needed to be fixed. Thank you for reading!

Chapter 2

The next morning found Sakura and her partners on a secluded part of the beach doing a light training routine followed by a long mediation session before breakfast. She didn't want to do anything heavy for two reasons. One: she wanted to gauge Pichu and Aron's abilities and second: she didn't want to risk any serious injuries to Combusken or Poochyena before her battle with the Dewford Gym Leader. Aron adjusted to her training style very quickly and had learned a couple of new moves. Not to mention that Pichu was already getting pretty strong. She'd already learned the move Thunder Shock as well as Quick Attack. She'd also already perfected another much stronger move Volt Tackle. Sakura also learned that Aron was a stubborn little devil. Anything she threw at him, he was determined to get past it; the harder the task, the better in his opinion. In so many ways, he was just like her.

After about an hour, Sakura called a halt and told them, "That was great, everyone. We are so ready for this battle. Aron, I know that you just joined us yesterday, but you have a lot of potential. I can't wait to see how far you go. Pichu, you did great today, baby girl. Keep up this pace and you'll be ready to evolve whenever you feel like it." Aron made a happy noise and nuzzled her leg and Pichu jumped onto her shoulder and began nuzzling her trainer's cheeks as she continued, "Now, let's go get some breakfast. I'm sure that you're all hungry." They made noises of agreement as she returned them and made her way back to the Pokémon Center.

On the way there, she got a call on her PokéNav from Steven since they'd registered the other into each other's PokéNav at his insistence. Even after all these years, Steven still had a protective streak a mile wide when it came to her.

 _"Where are you?"_ he demanded. Sakura sighed as she replied, "On my way back to the Pokémon Center. I just did my morning training session."

 _"How long have you been awake?"_ It was about nine o'clock in the morning and she'd been awake for about three hours, hour and a half training ending with an hour and half mediation. He didn't sound happy when she told him that but they quickly ended the call as she walked in the door. Walking into the cafeteria, she saw Steven with a Pokémon that she'd never seen before floating next to him, eating their breakfast, with Steven looking around every once in awhile. She waved when he saw her and she went to get some food. As she sat down, she released her Pokémon and made sure that they had their breakfast as well as making sure that they had plenty of water before digging into her own breakfast. As she was eating, she got curious, so she pulled her Pokédex out of one of the pockets of her skirt pocket and scanned it.

 _"Metagross, the Iron Leg Pokémon, and the evolved form of Metang. With its four brains, it has an intelligence rivaling a supercomputer. This Metagross is male and has the ability Clear Body. Please note the unusual coloration of this Pokémon indicates that it is a Shiny Pokémon."_

Sakura looked at Steven who was watching her and said, "Awesome looking Pokémon you got there, dude." He smiled, as he chuckled and Metagross looked proud of himself, and replied, "You have have some awesome Pokémon too, Sakura." She saw that he was looking over at Lucario. She just smirked as she pulled out her Pokédex and scanned Lucario.

 _"Lucario, the Aura Pokémon, and the evolved form of Riolu. Lucario reads the thoughts of others and anticipates their movements by sensing their auras. This Lucario is male and has the ability Inner Focus."_

He simply raised an eyebrow at her as he smirked and shook his head, making Sakura giggle before she remembered that she had something to give to Steven. Pulling the package out of her pocket, she handed it to him, but said, "You'll want to open that when you're alone." He raised an inquiring eyebrow but she refused to say more.

By the time they were done eating, it was after ten, so they decided to head over to the gym to see a man named Brawly about a match. When they entered Sakura saw a young man close to her age with spiky, blue haired wearing clothes better suited for the beach, talking to a girl. When he saw them, his eyes brightened when they landed on Steven. He approached and spoke, "Steven, good to see ya, man!" Steven smiled as he took the hand held out to him and replied, "It is good to see you, Brawly, I'm here because my friend wants to challenge you to a gym battle."

Brawly tilted his head to look at Sakura, who simply smiled kindly and said, "It's very nice to meet you, Brawly. I'm Sakura Simmons from Lumiose City," seeing him about to ask, she continued, "It's in the Kalos region," and held out her hand. Brawly took it with a big smile as he spoke again, "It's very nice to meet you, Sakura; I'm Brawly, the Dewford Gym Leader. Come on, let's go."

Sakura nodded, and then she turned and looked at Lucario, who stood just behind her, and asked, "Lucario, could you look after Pichu for me, please?" He nodded and Pichu jumped from Sakura's shoulder to his as they made their way to the field. Lucario sat not far behind her in a meditative pose. Steven took a seat in the stands as the referee spoke, "This is a battle between Dewford Gym Leader, Brawly, and the Challenger, Sakura Simmons of Lumiose City. This will be a two on two match. The victor will be decided when either side's Pokémon are unable to battle. Furthermore, only the Challenger may substitute Pokémon. Release your Pokémon!"

"Machop, I choose you!" Brawly called out, releasing his Machop, who took a ready stance. Sakura released her Combusken, which surprised Steven. He resolved to ask her about it later. Once the referee told them to begin, Brawly ordered Machop to use Focus Punch. Sakura retaliated by telling Combusken to dodge and use Sky Uppercut. Combusken complied and her claws began to glow light blue. She then dodged Machop's attack and uppercut him, throwing him back several feet. Then she ordered Combusken to use Flame Charge and then follow up with Double Kick. Combusken burst into flames and charges at her opponent, a determined gleam in her eye. Brawly ordered Machop to dodge, but he wasn't fast enough as Combusken ran into him, burning him, and then began kicking him. The force of the two attacks sent Machop into the wall and once, the dust cleared, everyone could see that he was unconscious.

The referee sighed and proclaimed, "Machop is unable to battle. Combusken is the winner." Hearing this, Sakura smiled, but remained on her guard. This was only half the battle. She watched as Brawly sighed and returned his Pokémon while thanking him for his work. He then looked at Sakura and said, "I underestimated you, but you can guarantee that it won't happen again. Go, Makuhita!" He then released his next Pokémon. Sakura looked at Combusken and asked, "Do you want to go on or do you want to take a break?"

Combusken looked away from where she'd been glaring at Makuhita and looked her trainer in the eye with a determined gleam and a smirk. Taking that as a no on the break, the referee called for the battle to resume. At once, Sakura ordered Combusken to use Flamethrower. The Fowl Pokémon immediately let out a stream of flames at Makuhita, who Brawly ordered to dodge and use Arm Thrust. It did so and began advancing on Combusken. Sakura told Combusken to dodge and use Sky Uppercut. At once, Combusken dodged and her claws began glowing blue and she uppercut Makuhita, throwing him back several feet, while doing some damage.

Sakura then ordered Combusken to use Flame Charge again and she immediately obeyed. She burst into flames and charged at Makuhita, who absorbed the blow on Brawly's order. He then ordered Makuhita to use High Jump Kick. Makuhita then began kicking Combusken at close range. Smirking, Sakura then told Combusken, "Use the strongest Flamethrower that you can muster." She complied and released a stream of fire out of her mouth, which Makuhita had no time to dodge. The flames sent Makuhita straight into the wall. Once again when the dust settled, it was revealed that Makuhita had feinted. Seeing this, the referee spoke, "Makuhita is unable to battle. Combusken is the winner. This victory goes to Sakura Simmons of Lumiose City!" Sakura began to jump up and down for joy as Combusken and Lucario watched, the feeling of amusement emanating in their auras. Steven then came down to her side and said, "Congratulations. You're pretty strong."

Sakura chuckled and replied, "Just wait. You haven't seen anything yet," as she began rubbing the top of Combusken's head while telling her that she had done a great job and that she was proud of her, making Combusken grin just before Sakura returned her to her Pokéball. Brawly then approached a familiar box in his hands. He then presented her with the Knuckle Badge. After she placed it in her badge case, she bowed to Brawly and said, "Thank you for the battle," and she, Lucario, Pichu, and Steven left.

Before they went back to the Pokémon Center, they stopped by to see Mr. Briney, who told them that were a few repairs that wouldn't be done until the next morning. When they went back to the Pokémon Center, Sakura called her father and told him that she'd won her second badge and asked after Furfrou. He told her that Furfrou was doing much better. He also asked if she'd found her friend and she told him that she had. She just smiled happily as they hung up, wondering what Pokémon she would catch next. She hoped it would be a Swablu, as her mother had had an Altaria when she'd been little. And since she had a twelve Pokémon carry limit, the possibilities were endless. Even though she could carry twelve, that didn't meant she could use all of them in one battle.

Boy, had Steven been surprised at that. She simply told him what her dad had told her. When a professor in charge of overseeing a trainer feels that that trainer has shown maturity and good sense when dealing with Pokémon, that professor could then upgrade the trainer's Pokémon carry limit, though if they didn't think they were handling it well or were misusing it, they could degrade as well. When she'd gone to Unova, he upgraded her to eight, and then ten when she'd gone to Sinnoh. Then he'd upgraded her to twelve just before she left to go to Hoenn. Now don't go thinking that this was a favoritism thing happening, because he'd upgraded several other trainers as well. Thinking this over, she simply shrugged her shoulders and went to lunch with Steven and their partners. In addition, her Pokédex allowed her to transfer her partners directly to and from her ranch that her father had purchased for her just before she left for Unova, which was a new feature that had been added only recently. It allowed her to rotate her team on the go to make sure that her partners were always healthy and ready for anything that life threw at them.

Afterwards, they simply walked around Dewford Town, simply enjoying the silence as well as each other's company. Sakura couldn't help but remember how it had been when they'd been younger. When they'd first met, they hadn't been able to stand each other for weeks, until one day Steven found one of the other kids older than them bullying her. This had started what would become his mile long protective streak. Since that day, they'd been practically inseparable, at least until her parents had been killed one night while she had been staying with Steven and his parents. Even to this day, she didn't know why her parents had died, but because of it, she'd been sent to live with her godfather, Professor Sycamore, who adopted her about a year later.

As she'd grown, she'd helped him with his research and taking care of the Pokémon who lived at the research lab. Garchomp had simply adored her, though when they'd first met, she'd been wary of him because he was so much bigger than her. In time though, he'd grown on her and he was now her favorite of her Dad's Pokémon. However, even then she had still missed Steven greatly. He had been such a big part of her life and to suddenly not have him there anymore caused her nightmares. When she had one, she'd go and curl up with Garchomp. Garchomp was good at chasing away nightmares. Later on, once she'd been able to control her aura abilities, she'd read in Garchomp's aura to find that he thought of her as his hatchling. It made her blush a little at that.

But nothing had ever felt better than the pride she'd felt from both her dad and Garchomp when she'd brought home her Gible when she'd returned from Sinnoh. Especially after she told them how she'd found Gible. She'd found Gible as an egg that had been abandoned by the side of the road not long after she'd arrived in Sinnoh. It had looked like that it had been there awhile. She had been surprised when it hatched into a Gible, though she was very glad as she'd always wanted a Garchomp of her own, but was even more surprised when she turned out to be a darker blue instead of the color she was supposed to be. Her dad had explained that Gible was a Shiny Pokémon, which was rare occurrence when a Pokémon was born an unusual color and it made Gible all the more special. Just before Sakura left, Gible had evolved into Gabite. This had caused some havoc for a while until she trained with Gabite to control her new powers and strength.

Luckily for Gabite and Sakura, there was plenty of space at her ranch for her and her Pokémon just outside Lumiose City, staffed with breeders and many others who helped to take care of Sakura's partners for her, both when she's there and when she was not. Her father also raised the starter Pokémon there. For the longest time, she kept Gabite with her since she had been a baby and Sakura had wanted to develop a strong bond with her, like her dad and his Garchomp. This was the longest that they'd been separated. She just hoped that Gabite was doing okay. However, she knew that Garchomp and Goodra as well as all of her other Pokémon would look after her.

HOSHOSHOSHOSHOSHOSHOSHOSHOSHOSHOSHOSHOSHOSHOSHOSHOSHOSHOSHOSHOSHOSHOSHOSHOSHOSHOSHOSHOS

Early the next morning, before anyone else besides Sakura was awake, Steven sat on his bed, staring at the package that his Sakura had given him. Also thinking about the warning she'd given him. What in earth could she have gotten him that it needed to be a secret? Sighing, he tore open the package to reveal a stainless steel lapel pin fashioned around a multi colored stone with a double helix symbol. The stone itself was rather pretty. It was certainly unique, especially since he had never seen a stone like this one before. Except around Sakura's throat there was a stone just like it, now that he thought about it. He continued to stare at it, not understanding why it needed to be a secret. He then noticed a note addressed to him that he hadn't seen before. Opening it, he realized why.

 _Dear Steven,_

 _I'm sure you're wondering why all the secrecy about this stone. Well, Steven, let's just say that this stone is very rare and very special. It is a Key Stone. A Key Stone is a component of Mega Evolution. Not much is known about it, but I'll say this. It is a gateway to unimaginable power. However, a Key Stone is only one part of Mega Evolution. A strong bond between trainer and Pokémon is also needed as well as that Pokémon's Mega Stone. Yes, each Pokémon that can Mega Evolve has their own Mega Stone, for example Lucarionite, hint, hint._

 _I have one of my own, but I found this one during my travels and didn't know of anyone else that I could trust with it, as my adoptive father, Professor Sycamore, now has a set for himself and his Garchomp. Many have become obsessed with the power of Mega Evolution and have used it in the wrong ways. In other words, they've gone insane because of it. Because they and their Pokémon could not handle_ _the power that came with it._

 _I'm sure that you've become the strong trainer that you've always wanted to be, Steven. I know that you could handle it_ _. But be warned. There are many who have tried to take my Key Stone from me, not truly understanding. Thus all the secrecy. I only know this much because my dad has studied it for most of his life, even then there is still not much known about it._

 _Oh, and one more thing. When there is a Mega Stone nearby, your Key Stone will react, no matter what kind of Mega Stone it is, so don't be too surprised if it starts glowing at some point, as there are Mega Stones everywhere._

 _Use it well, my friend._

 _With love,_

 _Sakura_

Steven continued looking at the pin with wonder. The fact that Sakura had trusted him with this made his heart melt. This answered a few of his questions. Tears pricked his eyes at the thought that even after all these years, she still had such faith in him. She hadn't changed much at all and he was determined not to let her down. Getting up, he put the pin on his blazer, which he put on and headed towards breakfast in search of Sakura, already knowing that she was more than likely not there.

Sakura was mediating with her partners at the secluded part of the beach that she'd been using for training since she'd been on the island. When she opened her eyes, she flared her aura to check out her surroundings before she recalled all of her Pokémon but Lucario. As she stood, she entered into a battle ready stance as did he. They quickly indulged in a light spar to keep up their reflexes. Things progressed this way until her stomach started growling. At this point, they headed back to the Pokémon Center. As she walked into the door, Sakura let out a surprised yelp when she was pulled into tight hug. She would have panicked if she had not have recognized the aura of the person holding her. With her aura senses, she would know Steven anywhere and it was the same with every person she that she met. When she noticed the lapel pin on Steven's jacket, she understood and hugged him back. With obvious reluctance, he pulled back and took her hand, silently leading her to breakfast.

After they and their partners ate, they gathered their things and went to see if Mr. Briney was ready to leave and since he was, they set sail. Not long after they left, Sakura decided to try to catch a water type. She and Steven sat talking, with Pichu on Sakura's shoulder, while they fished. It was almost as if something in their relationship had changed, though Sakura couldn't put her finger on what it was. It was almost as if he rotated around her, as if she was his personal sun. When she got tired, she would lay her head on his shoulder and he would wrap his arm around her waist, keeping her close to his side. She was so wrapped up in Steven that she almost didn't notice when she got a bite, but she did, and when she reeled it in, it revealed itself to be a Feebas. She had Pichu paralyze it, so that she could catch it. Once she did, she let scanned the Pokéball with her Pokédex.

 _"Feebas, the Fish Pokémon. Although extremely ragged, it is a tough Pokémon that can live in almost any kind of water. Feebas is often ignored because of the disheveled appearance of its fins and body. This Feebas is_ _female_ _and has the ability Swift Swim."_

Sakura cocked her head to the side as she dug through her backpack for her store of berries and potions. She had learned quickly to keep a small collection of both on hand in case she needed to take care of a hurt or sick Pokémon and was too far away from a Pokémon Center. Once she found the Cheri Berry that she was looking for, Sakura released Feebas and offered her the berry, which she took gratefully, curing her paralysis. Then Sakura ran her hands gently over Feebas's body, gauging her body and health with just touch. She had learned this from one of the Pokémon groomers that she'd met while traveling in the Kalos region. She asked him to teach her how to gauge a Pokémon's health and which berries to use in certain situations. It had been a great help. The groomer had offered to style her Furfrou, but he didn't like the idea very much, which both Sakura and the groomer had understood.

Steven smiled as he watched Sakura run Feebas through a few paces and a few training techniques. He knew that she was gauging Feebas's abilities and they were surprised that she already knew Dragon Pulse and Water Pulse, meaning that she was already pretty strong. Though if you asked her, Sakura would tell you that Feebas was born strong and would just get stronger as time went by; it was just the way that both of her fathers, biological and adoptive, had raised her. She returned Feebas and Pichu to let them rest and when she looked at him, she grinned at him, making his heart skip a beat.

They reached Slateport around lunch time on the third day after they set out. Sakura and Steven separated after lunch since he had some errands to run on his own. She was wearing her pink dress. The first thing that Sakura did was get her partners to the Pokémon Center and get them checked out. While they were being examined, Sakura called her father to let him know how she was doing and where she was headed next. Once they were done there, they headed to the Oceanic Museum in search of Captain Stern, having been told that he'd be there by one of his associates, since the parts had to be delivered to him and him alone. Only to find the place swarmed with goons dressed in red outfits, similar to the thugs that she'd fought in Oldale and Rustboro. Not quite sure what was going on, but being extremely wary, Sakura pulled out her sapphire blue hooded dress coat that she wore during chilly conditions or when she was competing in a contest and wanted to hide her identity from her backpack and put it on, pulling the hood over her head. When she got upstairs, she met an old man and approached him, asking him in a very low tone, "Are you Captain Stern?"

He nodded and replied, "Yes, but who are you?" Sakura smiled lightly as she pulled the package that she'd been asked to deliver out of her backpack, and answered in the same low tone, "I have a delivery for you from the Devon Corporation."

His eyes lit up and he replied, "Oh, those are the parts that I ordered. Thank you!" Sakura smiled kindly as she handed him the package, but with her aura enhanced senses, she stiffened when she felt two of the men from downstairs approach them.

"We'll take those, old man!" Sakura turned quickly to find two of the men from downstairs, some of the ones wearing red, standing not far away, with Pokéballs in their hands. Narrowing her eyes, Sakura placed her hand on one of the Pokéballs on her belt as Lucario jumped in between them, growling a warning.

"You're going to have to get through me and my partners first!" Sakura shouted, letting out her Absol. The men sneered as the man on the right released a Corphish and the man on the left released a Poochyena. The right man ordered Corphish to use Bubble on Absol and the left man told Poochyena to use Bite on Lucario.

"Lucario, Aura Sphere. Absol, use Dark Pulse!" Sakura ordered. Lucario sent an orb of aura energy at Poochyena, forcing it back into a wall. Once the dust cleared, everyone could see that Poochyena's eyes were swirls. Absol opens her mouth and a light purple orb surrounded in black and purple circles appears inside it. She then fired a beam of black and purple circles from the orb inside her mouth at Corphish, throwing it into the wall next to Poochyena. Unlike Poochyena, however, Corphish was able to get up. The right man the ordered it to use Crabhammer. Sakura retaliated, saying, "Absol, use Shadow Ball!" Absol created a dark purple ball from her mouth and sent it at Corphish. When it collided with Corphish, it sent the lobster back into the wall, though this time it didn't get back up.

The two men growled as they returned their Pokémon and said, "The boss is going to kill us if we don't get those parts!"

"I was wondering what was taking so long. It doesn't take long to get some measly parts and you **lose** to a little girl?!" an angry voice demanded. Looking behind the men who'd challenged her, Sakura saw a man dressed in all in red, differently that the two goons that she'd just battled. The only thought running through Sakura's mind was _"This man totally has the creepy scientist thing going on."_ The man then ranted and raved about how he was Maxie, the leader of Team Magma, and he kept going on and on about how they were going to enlarge the land masses. Sakura listened with horror on her features as she thought, _"If Team_ _Magma_ _wants to enlarge the_ _land_ _, then what on earth does Team_ _Aqua_ _want_ _?"_ Steven had told her what little he knew about both Team Aqua and Team Magma, but from what he'd told her, it seemed as if Team Aqua would do anything to stop Team Magma.

 _"My guess, Mistress, the opposite,"_ Lucario replied as he and Absol growled at Archie, warning him not to come any closer to their beloved trainer. Over time, Absol had picked up Lucario's protectiveness of their trainer and as the bond between Sakura and Absol had grown stronger, Absol only protected her more fiercely. After all, Absol had once had another trainer before Sakura and they'd abandoned her in an unfamiliar region. It had taken a long time before Absol trusted that Sakura would never do the same. Sakura spoke again her voice steady despite not feeling very confident at that moment, silently wishing for Steven, "Nature is balanced as it is, Maxie! Only a fool tries to mess with it!"

"Of course, you are so young that you truly do not understand our goals," he commented, almost as a lament, leaving with his goons, leaving behind a shaken and horrified Sakura. She stared after him with wide eyes, hardly believing that someone could wish for something so evil. Sure, she's met some really bad people before, but never had she met anyone like that. Didn't he realize that millions of people and Pokémon would die if their wishes came true? Did he really not care?

She was pulled out of her thoughts when Absol bumped her head against her trainer's shoulder, bringing her attention back to her dark type. Sakura began rubbing her head, emitting feelings of pride in her aura, while giving her a small smile. She then turned to Captain Stern and asked him if he was alright. He quickly reassured her that he was fine and made a call to his boss to notify him of what happened. Sakura recalled Absol and she and Lucario escorted the Captain back to his colleagues before heading back to the Pokémon Center, where they found Steven out front with a worried look on his face as he paced. When she saw him, she ran to him and buried her face in his chest as his arms came around her. They stayed like that for awhile as he rubbed his hand up and down her back, offering her the only comfort he could. He then led her to the double room that they shared as it had been the only one left. He sat down on the edge of one of the beds and pulled her to him. They stayed silent for a little while longer until he heard her mutter, "How could they? How could they?"

"I don't know," he told her. He'd panicked when he'd gotten that call from his father, telling him what had happened at the museum. He absolutely hated that she'd had to face Maxie alone. She had to have been so scared and confused. He, along with Team Aqua leader Archie, had been giving the League and the Officer Jennies fits for the last few weeks, stealing Pokémon and whatever they felt they needed for their plans. Though most of the time, it was Team Magma as Team Aqua seemed to want to stop them. Until now, they'd had no real idea of what their plans might be. He only wish that Sakura hadn't have been involved.

"They need to be stopped, Steven," she told him, "Millions could die if either of them have their way."

"They will be," he replied, "But you don't have to worry about that." Sakura pulled back to look him in the eye and shook her head while saying, "It's my job to protect Pokémon, Steven," he opened his mouth to object but she didn't let him as she continued, "No, Steven! There's one other thing that you don't know. After I left, I learned that I have the ability to use aura the same way my Lucario can. I'm an Aura Guardian." His eyes widened. He knew what that meant as Cynthia had told him many of the histories and legends from Sinnoh when they'd met. She'd told him the legend of a man named Sir Aaron who could use the power of aura, though she'd also told him that **true** Aura Guardians were all but extinct.

"You are?" he asked, looking incredulous. She nodded as her eyes began to glaze over blue and in her hand was a small blue sphere, similar to her Lucario's Aura Sphere attack. He simply stared at it as she allowed the sphere to dissipate. She then explained that she hadn't mentioned it before because her dad had told her to tell no one, lest someone tries to use her for something that negates her true purpose which was to protect humans and Pokémon alike. He then pulled her back into his arms, reassuring her that he didn't care. He wouldn't have cared if she'd been psychic or if she had a third eye. That made her giggle, which was what he'd been aiming for. He would do almost anything to get that solemn look off her face. He smiled as he led her to dinner. They talked and laughed as their Pokémon ate around them. However, as she was eating, she felt a lot of pain and despair in the area. That would be normal since she was in a Pokémon Center, but the pain wasn't coming from any of the Pokémon in the Center. Steven watched as her face went from smiling to harsh and cold as she returned all of her Pokémon save Lucario and Sakura got up and ran out of the cafeteria, her Lucario following quickly after her. Steven quickly returned his Metagross and went after her.

He was able to catch up with her in time to see her stop at a mouth to an alley. When he stood on her left, opposite Lucario, he saw what brought her out here and he was horrified by what he saw. A young woman was beating on a small, quadruped, fox-like Pokémon. It had yellow pelt, brown, pupil-less eyes, large, pointed ears with darker yellow insides, and six light orange tails with curled tips. The little one also had curled locks of light orange fur with bangs on top of its head. The remains of a smashed Pokéball lay nearby. They could hear the woman growling that the Pokémon was weak and useless as well as pathetic, making Sakura's eyes narrow angrily.

Apparently the little Pokémon had just lost a battle against an Oddish. Sakura watched as the woman raised her hand to strike the little fox again, but she ran forward, grabbing hold of the woman's wrist, and threw her away from the little Pokémon that she knew was a Vulpix as she ordered, "Lucario, use Heal Pulse on that Vulpix!" Lucario did as he was told and began healing what he could on Vulpix as Sakura turned back to the woman who gotten up, with a scowl on her face while demanding, "What the hell are you doing?" before paling at the cold glare on Sakura's face.

When Sakura spoke, her voice was just as cold and harsh as her glare as she said, "People like you disgust me. How you even think that you have the right to put your hands on that Pokémon, I'll never know, but I can tell you this. You won't be doing it again." The trainer went red in the face as she approached Sakura, intending to slap her. Steven moved to stop her, but Sakura dodged her while tripping her, making her fall over and land flat on her face. Looking down at the red faced girl, Sakura sneered, "If anyone is pathetic, it is you," she then looked at Lucario who told her, _"The Vulpix is still_ _badly hurt. I did what I could, but she needs medical attention_ _to make sure there are no internal injuries."_

With another glare at the trainer on the ground, Sakura spoke, "Lucario, use Psychic on her to bring her along. I don't want her disappearing before I speak to Officer Jenny." Sakura then slowly approached Vulpix, who shrunk away as she attempted to touch her. She then pooled a little bit of her aura into her hand as she laid it on the little Pokémon's head, letting Vulpix know that she just wanted to help. She then let Sakura lift her gently into her arms, and she held her to her chest as she went as quickly as she dared back towards the Pokémon Center.

Lucario followed, still holding the trainer still with his Psychic attack, Steven following shortly after. Once Nurse Joy saw the little Vulpix in Sakura's arms, she jumped into action and worked to heal her. She then demanded to know how Vulpix had gotten into that condition, which Sakura and Steven quickly explained and Officer Jenny was summoned. Once the story was told again, Officer Jenny took the trainer away to be processed and charged for her crime. Still a little angry, Sakura and Lucario went through a full on spar session to work out her aggression. They didn't return to the room until late. That night, Sakura slept fitfully. The scene with that little Vulpix kept running through her eyes, but in her dreams she never got there on time.

Sakura was silent the next morning at breakfast. It still upset her greatly that someone would treat their partners that way. Sure, she understood that not all people treated their partners with the same respect that she did, but still. She sighed and realized that she was going to have to get used to it. The thought made her appetite vanish and she got up to put her tray away. She then went to the desk and saw Nurse Joy.

"Good morning, Nurse Joy," Sakura greeted with a small smile, though it didn't reach her eyes. When Nurse Joy looked up, her eyes lit up and replied, "Good morning, Miss Simmons. That Vulpix that you brought in last night seems to be doing just fine and will be able to leave in a day or two, as long as she's allowed to rest. Her wounds looked worse than they really were. Would you like to see her?" Sakura nodded. She then led her into a room where she saw the Vulpix laying on a medical table with some bandages wrapped around her middle. She looked to be sleeping, but when Sakura entered the room, her head came up and she gave a happy cry of her name.

"Hello, Vulpix. I'm glad that you're going to be alright," she told her, as she took a seat next to the bed that Vulpix was laying on and started rubbing her head just behind her ear, making Vulpix purr happily. Sakura's eyes softened at the sight as she spoke, "You know, Vulpix, I hope that you don't believe a word that girl said last night." Vulpix tilted her head slightly in question as Sakura continued, "You are not weak. You are not useless. If anything, **she** was useless, not you. Anyone who ever calls you that is only compensating for what they lack."

"Vulpix," she replied, doubtfully.

"No, Vulpix, I mean it. My biological dad told me once that there is no such thing as a weak Pokémon. That Pokémon are born strong and only get stronger as time passes," Sakura told her, smiling at the memory of her dad watching her play with his Meowth and her mother's Growlithe as he smiled in the background. Growlithe had been only a baby since she'd hatched only a week before her parents had passed away. Sakura had always wondered what had happened to the little Puppy Pokémon since she hadn't been found.

"Vulpix!" she cried, this time demandingly, bringing Sakura back to the present. Sakura looked at her in shock, not quite understanding what she wanted. She asked, "What's wrong, Vulpix?"

"I think she's telling you that she wants to come with you," a voice replied from behind her, making her yelp as she jumped in her seat. Looking behind her, she saw Steven standing behind her, a smug smirk on his face and Feebas in his arms, with Lucario sitting not far behind her with the rest of her Pokémon. Sakura turned back to Vulpix, who was looking at her expectantly, and asked, "Is that true, Vulpix?"

"Vulpix!" she replied happily. Sakura locked eyes with Nurse Joy who said, "If you use a Heal Ball, it should be alright, after all, she's mostly bruised with no broken bones," with a smile. Sakura's face lit up as she dug around in her bag, having kept a few Heal Balls in her first aid kit just in case for situations much like this one. She'd actually caught Furfrou with a Heal Ball. It had been the recommendation of the Nurse Joy in Lumiose City to keep a few on hand, just in case.

After rummaging in her backpack, she pulled out one of her Heal Balls, shouting, "Ah, ha!" making everyone around her laugh. She then turned back to Vulpix, while saying to the others, "If you think that's funny, you should meet my Piplup or my Oshawott." She then looked Vulpix in the eye and said, "Okay, Vulpix, you ready?" as she held out the Heal Ball, which Vulpix touched with her nose. She then disappeared inside it, it shook once before dinging, signaling that Vulpix hadn't tried to escape at all. Sakura then let Vulpix back out and allowed Nurse Joy to look her over to make sure that everything healed properly, which it had.

Vulpix sat on the table, looking like she'd never been hurt. She then jumped into Sakura's arms and nuzzled against her shoulder. Nurse Joy proudly pronounced that Vulpix was now in perfect health. Sakura returned all of her Pokémon except Lucario, Pichu, and Vulpix, who climbed up onto Sakura's shoulders and draped herself over them like a scarf, while Pichu jumped on top of her head.

Sakura then pulled her Pokédex out of her pocket and scanned Vulpix.

 _"Vulpix, the Fox Pokémon. Its six tails are extremely beautiful. As it evolves, it grows even more tails. Vulpix uses powerful flame attacks. This Vulpix is female and has the ability Flash Fire. Please note that the unusual coloration of this Pokémon indicates that it is a Shiny Pokémon."_

Sakura then flipped through the information on her new Vulpix to find that she knew Flamethrower, Confuse Ray, Fire Spin, and Quick Attack. Sakura was pleasantly surprised. After all, it seemed that Vulpix was quite young. To have her know Flamethrower at such a young age was amazing. It also made her scoff at the idea that Vulpix was weak. That trainer really was an idiot to not see a Pokémon's true potential. Vulpix's loss to that Oddish must of been due to that trainer's incompetence, not Vulpix. She gently rubbed one of Vulpix's ears, making her purr happily. She quietly took Vulpix off her shoulders and pulled out a bright blue hair ribbon. It had been a gift from Steven when she'd turned three, after all, he'd know that blue was her favorite color. She then tied it into a pretty bow around Vulpix's neck, like a necklace. She could tell that Vulpix liked it by the happy cry she gave out. When Steven had seen it, he'd smiled in fond remembrance as she picked up Vulpix, who immediately returned to her former position.

Afterwards, Sakura and Steven went and gathered the rest of their belongings from the room that they'd been staying in, returned the key, and set off, hoping to find a place to camp for the night or make it to the next Pokémon Center before sundown. On their way, several trainers challenged Sakura to battles, mostly three on three, which she won. She continuously used Aron, Poochyena, and somewhat Vulpix, so that they could get some battling experience. Mostly Poochyena and Aron though, as she was planning on using them as well as Combusken in her battle with Wattson, the Mauville Gym Leader, since he specialized in electric types. She knew that because Steven had told her about the gym leaders and the Elite Four that she hadn't battled yet. All but the Sootopolis Gym Leader, whose name he told her was Wallace. Steven had already told her that he was the Champion, but had asked Wallace to temporarily take his place for a little while. He explained that that was because Wallace was the closest he'd come to a best friend since her, which she respected and didn't ask anything else. Though, she did make him promise that when it came time for her to challenge the Elite Four, and if she made it that far, that when it came time for her to challenge the Champion, that the battle would be between the two of them. Normally she'd try out Pichu, due to her special ability, but she was still a little young for gym battles since she was just over a week old. Though she'd gotten a lot stronger in that week, thanks to Sakura's training.

They found a clearing not far off the route that they were taking with a stream nearby. As there was still some time to get some training in, since none of her partners were seriously injured during the battles, at least nothing that she couldn't heal herself or a good night's rest wouldn't fix. During the six years that she'd spent training at the Shalour Gym with Korrina, she'd also done a few healing courses with Nurse Joy. She'd wanted to be ready in case something happened while she was traveling and she was too far from a Pokémon Center. She thought that it would come in handy one day and it had more than once. She ran her Pokémon through their paces, working on improving their agility as well as their reflexes as she had them lob attacks at each other, forcing the others to dodge them. The two strongest were definitely Lucario and Absol, which was a given as they'd been with her the longest, who toned down their attacks as not to hurt the others or her as she was participating as well, launching aura spheres, creating barriers, and dodging the attacks of her Pokémon. Steven sat up in a tree, simply watching in fascination at her training techniques. He'd looked at her as if she'd been crazy when she started, until she told him that because of what she was and how she'd been trained, she had to train herself just as hard as she did her Pokémon. And it worked. Not a single one of her partner's attacks touched her. She was able to dodge with grace and even style of all things. She moved with a speed he'd never seen a human being accomplish before. He could see that she'd been trained in some kind of martial art and so had her Lucario, as he watched them spar with each other. She was also teaching it to her Combusken, much to the Fowl Pokémon's delight. The fire and fighting type was a natural and learned quickly.

After she had decided that they'd trained long enough, Sakura called Steven down and asked him if he would like to meditate with her. He'd looked at her strangely for a few seconds until she explained that it helped her with not only her aura abilities, but it allowed her to stay calm and focused during a battle. He then asked her to show him, making her smile. She then told him to release his partners from their Pokéballs. She hadn't been surprised, even though she'd only seen Metagross, who was happy to see her. His Skarmory stared at her and she stared back, her gaze unwavering, before he looked away. She then took a seat and he copied her, their partners gathered around them. He told her that when he'd started his journey this time, he'd only brought Metagross and Skarmory with him, leaving the others with his dad. She told them to clear their minds of all thoughts, to relax and focus only on their breathing. After awhile she could sense Steven's frustration that he wasn't getting it, so she enveloped him and his partners in her aura, which allowed to them to calm themselves and clear their minds. They sat like that for about an hour, but before long the grumbling of their bellies told them that it was dinner time. They quickly ate and went to bed. Steven lay in his sleeping bag a couple of feet away from hers. When he looked over, Sakura lay on her side facing him, her Pichu and Vulpix curled up on top of her side. Her Lucario sat sleeping against a tree trunk near her head. Absol curled herself around Sakura's back and Combusken had curled up in front of her, her arms wrapped around Sakura's knees with Poochyena was curled up in her arms. Her Aron was sleeping up against her stomach, but her Feebas was sleeping in her Pokéball which she'd thought would be better for her. She looked beautiful as she slept with the moon casting its light across her skin.

They'd all gotten a lot stronger, especially Feebas. She'd since learned Ice Beam and Mirror Coat. Attacks that would definitely come in handy in future battles. Now she working on teaching her Iron Tail and Hidden Power. Aron had learned Rock Tomb, Metal Claw, and Protect. Currently she was trying to teach him Iron Tail with Feebas as well as Shadow Claw. It seems as though that Iron Tail was one of her favorite attacks as several of her other Pokémon, including Lucario, Poochyena, and Pichu, knew it too. Poochyena now knew Bite, Roar, Double Team, Hidden Power, and Incinerate, in addition to Iron Tail. She was now working on teaching him Dark Pulse and Shadow Ball. Pichu had grown a lot for only being a week old. She'd learned Thunder Wave, Light Screen, and Nuzzle, though Steven didn't know what that move was. She hadn't used it in battle yet, but he was curious. He'd noticed that she spent more time training than other trainers that he'd met. From what he'd seen, she spent a lot of time working with each Pokémon individually, as the strength of her bond with each of her Pokémon was astounding. Her partners adored her. He'd asked her about it once and she'd replied, _"My partners are only as loyal to me as I am to them. And as you know, I am_ _ **very**_ _loyal."_ He hadn't had any idea what to say to that. Steven closed his eyes and went back to sleep, a feeling of peace coming over him.

HOSHOSHOSHOSHOSHOSHOSHOSHOSHOSHOSHOSHOSHOSHOSHOSHOSHOSHOSHOSHOSHOSHOSHOSHOSHOSHOSHOSHOS

Sakura gritted her teeth. It had been a few days since they'd left Slateport. While she and Steven had been traveling to Mauville, many trainers had challenged her to battle. She'd won some and lost others, but she hadn't been upset by those losses. She'd taken them as learning experiences as she always had. But this trainer, a hiker by the look of him, kept boasting that he had never lost a match. He'd also taken one look at her and dismissed her as beneath him. It was people like that set her teeth on edge and pricked her temper.

"Hey, I challenge you to a battle!" she called out. He looked her up and down again and scoffed, making her retort, "If you're all that, then prove it!" pulling out her Feebas's Pokéball. His humiliation would be all the worse if he lost to an opponent that he had underestimated. That caught his attention and he released his Magby. She then released her Feebas, making the hiker sneer. She raised her eyebrow as Steven, who was acting as the referee, called for the battle to begin.

"Let's end this fast, Magby! Use Ember!" The hiker ordered. Magby then opened it mouth and sent flames towards Feebas.

"I know that we can do this, Feebas! Use Water Pulse!" Sakura called out, remaining calm as Feebas created an orb of water and intercepted the Ember attack. Before the hiker could react, Sakura ordered, "Dragon Pulse!" Feebas opened her mouth and release a multi colored stream of energy in the shape of a dragon at Magby, shoving it back, much to the hiker's dismay as he growled, "How could such a stupid, pathetic Pokémon know such a powerful attack?!" This made Sakura gasp in indignation and Feebas flinched. It had been her greatest fear that her trainer would think her pathetic and weak, that she would release her, because she wanted to stay. In just the last week that she'd been with her, she'd been treated with more love and kindness than she had been her entire life. Grinding her teeth angrily, Sakura snarled, "Don't you **dare** talk about my Pokémon like that!"

Everyone in the area, including Feebas, stiffened at the unhidden fury in Sakura's voice as she continued, an angry sneer on her face, "You might think that Feebas doesn't look like much on the outside, but I know that she has more strength, courage, and **beauty** than you do in your pinky finger!" This made Feebas's heart swell with love for her trainer and tears of happiness form in her eyes, because she could sense that her beloved trainer believed every word she spoke with all of her heart. Her trainer would never send her away and believed her to be beautiful. Because of that, she was able to believe it for herself. That was when it happened.

Feebas began glowing with a bright white light and her body got bigger and longer. When the bright light went away, it left behind a serpentine Pokémon with a primarily cream-colored body. It had red eyes with long, pinkish antennae above them. In addition, there were long, hair-like fins above its eyes, which began to thin and thicken towards the tips. Those eyebrows extend to almost half of the serpentine Pokémon's body length. On top of its relatively small head was a straight spike. Running down either side of its neck were three black dots, similar to gills. Its lower body was a patterning of blue and pink, diamond-shaped scales outlined with black. The tail consisted of four large, blue fins with pink ovals in their centers. Each of the tail fins overlapped the next slightly, causing it to resemble a fan. A little bit in shock, Sakura absentmindedly pulled her Pokédex out of her skirt pocket and scanned the Pokémon left behind.

 _"Milotic, the Tender Pokémon, and the evolved form of Feebas. At the first sign of fighting, Milotic will come up from the bottom of its lake habitat to calm any angry feelings. This Milotic is female. Upon evolution, Milotic has gained the ability Marvel Scale and has learned Water Gun, Aqua Tail, Aqua Ring, Dragon Tail, and Disarming Voice. The moves Iron Tail and Hidden Power have also been mastered."_

Sakura stood there in shock as Milotic turned her head towards her trainer with a smile on her face, which was returned with exuberance and she began emitting feelings of love and pride in her aura, making Milotic cry out her new name happily. The hiker looked shocked too, but recovered quickly and growled, "It doesn't matter. We'll still beat you and your pathetic Pokémon!" His Magby cried out its name as he ordered it to use Fire Spin, to which it complied, sending a swirl of flames that surrounded Milotic. Sakura calmly told Milotic to use Water Gun to douse the flames. The Tender Pokémon happily complied, sending out a stream of water out of its mouth. Then Sakura ordered, "Use Aqua Tail, Milotic!"

Milotic's tail was then surrounded by water as she slammed it into Magby, the force of which threw it into a tree. Once the dust settled, it was revealed that Magby's eyes were swirls. Seeing this, Steven declared that Milotic was the winner. The hiker returned his Pokémon and glared as he gave Sakura her reward for winning, vowing that he didn't understand how he lost to such a pathetic trainer. Sakura simply sighed in annoyance as she went to her Pokémon and began rubbing her head, which made Milotic let out a happy sound as Sakura congratulated her and told her how proud she was of her before returning her to her Pokéball.

Leaving the aggravating hiker behind, Sakura and Steven continued on their way, with Sakura muttering under her breath about stupid people. Hearing this made Steven chuckle, which made Sakura look at him and demand, "What in the name of Arceus is so funny?" with an irritated look on her face.

"I really don't know why you let the things people like him say bug you so much. You're a great trainer. You know that," he replied, looking a little bewildered. Sakura sighed. In truth, even she didn't truly understand why, but she didn't like being dismissed as unimportant. She'd had several people tell her that she was dumb and pathetic. That she should try for something smaller, that her dreams were unattainable. Not only that, he'd called her partners pathetic and stupid. Say what you want about her, but never insult her partners. Sakura knew for a fact that her Pokémon were very intelligent. She moved on without replying and he dropped it, sensing that she really didn't want to talk about it at the moment.

Camp was quiet that night as they lay sleeping, both lost in their own little world.

HOSHOSHOSHOSHOSHOSHOSHOSHOSHOSHOSHOSHOSHOSHOSHOSHOSHOSHOSHOSHOSHOSHOSHOSHOSHOSHOSHOSHOS

The next morning found Sakura and her partners doing mock battles with each other. Lucario with Absol and so on, while Sakura meditated, over-seeing everything with her aura sense. She was about to call a halt for the morning when she felt pain and fear, coming from the forest. Getting up, she spoke, "Everyone continue until I return."

 _"Do you want me to accompany you, Mistress?"_ Lucario asked. Sakura simply shook her head and left. When she found the source of the pain and fear, she came upon a flock of Spearow attacking what looked to be a Swablu and a blue Pokémon that she'd never seen before. Summoning an aura sphere, she threw it at the tree, scaring off the Spearow. Once she was sure that they were gone, she slowly approached the two Pokémon. At first they flinched back, but she gently flared her aura, letting them know that it was okay. She quickly healed all the scratches left by the Spearow. While she did that, they showed her that the Spearow had attacked because they'd been trying to get some berries from their tree. She then pulled out her Pokédex and scanned the little Pokémon.

 _"Swablu, the Cotton Bird Pokémon. Swablu loves cleanliness and is quick to wipe off any unclean surface with its cotton-like wings. This Swablu is female and has the ability Natural Cure."_

 _"Mudkip, the Mud Fish Pokémon. Mudkip uses the sensitive radar receptors on its headfin to determine what's going on around it. In a pinch, it can brandish enough power to crush rocks. Mudkip is one of the three Pokémon new trainers can choose from in the Hoenn region. This Mudkip is male and has the ability Torrent."_

Sakura was about to get up and head back, because she felt Lucario's aura flare with concern, but she heard both little Pokémon's stomachs rumble with hunger. Her eyes softened as she gathered them both into her arms and carried them back to camp, where Steven had just finished getting breakfast ready for everyone. She then set up two bowls for Swablu and Mudkip, who quickly ate.

Steven looked at her curiously and Sakura quickly explained what had happened. He just gave her a smile along with a shake of his head. Once everyone was finished eating, they began packing up camp and recalling their partners to their Pokéballs. Once that was done, Sakura had expected Swablu and Mudkip to return to the forest, but they stood there looking at her expectantly. She sighed as Steven smirked.

"You two wanna come with us?" she asked the two small Pokémon. Mudkip jumped into her arms with a cry of "Kip, kip, Mudkip!" While Swablu simply flapped her wings and landed on Sakura's shoulder. She promptly nuzzled the side of the girl's head. Shifting Mudkip into one arm, she pulled out two Pokéballs, one an all red Cherish Ball and the other an all white Premier Ball. She tapped Mudkip's side with the Premier Ball and Swablu with the Cherish Ball. They both disappeared inside of the balls, which shook once before dinging. She smiled as she placed them on her belt and they got on their way.

As they walked, Sakura pulled Swablu's Pokéball and would just stare at it with a small smile on her face. Steven looked at her and asked, "Why are you looking at Swablu's Pokéball like that?" She looked at him and replied, "I've always hoped that I'd catch one."

"Why?" Sakura just smiled sadly as she told him, "My mother had one." An understanding look appeared on his face and he smiled. He knew that Sakura missed her mother dearly. Before she'd left, she'd wanted to be just like her. When he'd told her that she looked just like her mother, but with her father's eyes, an extremely sad look came over her features and he'd known. Sakura had been very close to both her parents. Their death had taken a great toll on everyone who'd loved them, but Sakura in particular had been hit hard. Weeks before her departure, she had stopped speaking and had barely ate. He'd been so scared that he was going to lose her the same way she'd lost her parents. It was what had made her departure to Kalos even harder as he'd thought that he'd never see her again. Closing his eyes against those thoughts, he thought, _"She's here now and wherever she goes, I go."_

HOSHOSHOSHOSHOSHOSHOSHOSHOSHOSHOSHOSHOSHOSHOSHOSHOSHOSHOSHOSHOSHOSHOSHOSHOSHOSHOSHOSHOS

Sakura's Current Party (In Order of Capture)

1\. Lucario

2\. Absol

3\. Poochyena

4\. Combusken

5\. Aron

6\. Milotic

7\. Vulpix (Shiny)

8\. Swablu

9\. Mudkip


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I don't own anything but my OCs.

Author's Notes: Thoughts, flash backs, Pokédex entries, and telepathy are in italics. There are also some triggers in part of this chapter. Just thought that I'd let you know. Next chapter is in the works.

Chapter 3

It took them several more days to reach Mauville City, a full week since they'd left Slateport. It was dark when they arrived in the city limits and they knew that they would have to wait before going to the gym, so they made sure to reserve a room at the Pokémon Center. Once again, a double was all that was left, which didn't bother the two friends too much. After all, they'd been camping together for the last week and had learned each other's boundaries. Many things had happened during the last week of travel too. Just before they arrived in Mauville, Poochyena evolved into Mightyena and Mudkip into Marshtomp. Swablu was well on her way to evolving into an Altaria. Both of her newest captures had adjusted well to her training style. She made sure that all of her partners knew that she was proud of their accomplishments. She had adjusted her strategy for her gym battle to include Marshtomp since his dual type status as a water and ground type would afford him some protection against electric type attacks. He'd learned the moves Mud Shot, Ice Beam, Mud Bomb, and Brick Break which would be a great help. Aron too had grown. He'd mastered Shadow Claw and Iron Tail. In addition to those, he'd learned Rock Slide, Iron Head, and Metal Sound.

At dinnertime, Steven insisted that he pay for it, much to Sakura's annoyance. If there was one thing that she hated just as much as a Pokémon abuser, it was feeling like a mooch. She told him that next time she was paying for her dinner, which he agreed to, but she didn't believe him. He'd had that look on his face that said that he was just pacifying her. Not wanting to start a fight, Sakura just let it go for the moment. After dinner, they walked around the town as it was still light out. Once they'd seen everything, they returned to the Pokémon Center and went to the battlefield at the back. Sakura had decided that before they went to bed, they would get a little extra training in, but nothing heavy. They started off with a light run and ended with a meditation session with Steven, Metagross, and Skarmory. The group meditated for about an hour before heading inside to sleep. What they didn't notice was that their Key Stones were glowing slightly.

The next morning Sakura was once again awake before Steven and went through her normal routine, though normally Steven joined her for her meditation sessions now. He'd told her that she had been completely correct that it would help improve his focus and ability to stay calm. She hadn't said what she'd wanted to at that moment, but she'd thought it. Once she and her partners were done meditating, Sakura returned all but Lucario to their Pokéballs and went to breakfast to find Steven already there. He'd already gotten a tray set up with her favorite breakfast, scrambled eggs with sausage, hash browns, toast, and a glass of orange juice. Yeah, you could say that it wasn't a healthy breakfast, but she worked it off. Letting out her partners, Sakura made sure that they had their food and some water before digging into her own. Sakura always saw to the needs of her Pokémon before her own. Once she finished her food, she happened to notice a slight glowing from Steven's Key Stone. Throat dry, she breathed, "Steven." Looking at her, he noticed where her gaze was and was surprised to see the Key Stone that Sakura had given him, glowing lightly. When he looked at hers, he saw that same glow.

He looked up at her, heart pounding, he whispered, "Do you think?" Sakura nodded and replied in a whisper, "The closer it is, the brighter glow. My gym battle will have to be put on hold." He nodded and they quickly finished eating. They returned their partners and went back to their room. Once there, Sakura began packing things that they might need, like blankets, water, food for at least a night just in case, flashlights, and batteries. She also made sure that her first aid kit was fully stocked before she packed it.

Then they set off, the glow of their Key Stones leading them up into the mountains. It took them most of the morning, but eventually Sakura and Steven came upon a cave. Handing Steven one of the flashlights, Sakura turned hers on and entered the cave, she and Lucario flaring their auras every now and then to keep them from being attacked by any cave dwelling Pokémon. They made their way towards the back of the cave. The presence that she felt was strange. Much stronger than it would have been if it was a single Mega Stone. She then looked at Steven and spoke, "If the presence I feel is anything to go by, there's more than one."

"You can feel them?" He asked, his eyebrow raised. Sakura nodded and replied, "There is power in Mega Stones. Anything with power gives off an aura. I've only come across three Mega Stones before and what I'm feeling is telling me there's more than one. At least five if I'm judging correctly. Which is very rare and unusual since the only time I've come across Mega Stones, there's only ever been one."

"Three?"

"The Lucarionite for my Lucario. The Absolite for my Absol and Garchompite for my father's Garchomp," she told him. He simply raised his eyebrow at her, but she didn't elaborate and kept on going. He sighed and followed, knowing that if Sakura didn't want to tell you something, you couldn't force her. He figured that if she wanted to tell him, she'd do it in her own time. Once they came to the back of the cave, Sakura placed her hand against the wall. When she did so, she felt the pulses of power become stronger. She then pulled Steven back before saying, "Lucario, use Rock Smash!" Lucario's hand began to glow a red orange color and he began punching the rock wall several times until five small multi colored stones fall out of the wall from the force of Lucario's attacks. It was almost as if they had been hidden there. Quickly gathering them in a small pouch that she placed in a secret pocket in her backpack, Sakura then told Steven, "We'll figure this out in a safer place." He nodded in agreement as they left the cave and headed back down the mountain. By then it was lunch time, so once they were halfway back to town, they stopped and fed not only themselves but their partners too, while taking a quick break.

Sakura sat by the stream that went by the clearing where they'd stopped for lunch, watching Marshtomp and Milotic swim in the water with Vulpix curled into her hip while the others curled up for a nap in the sunshine, wondering what kind of Mega Stones they'd found. She breathed in the fresh mountain air as she relaxed. If one of those Mega Stones turned out to be for at least one of Steven's partners, she might have to put off her gym battle for awhile to help them learn to control it. It wasn't so much that the Pokémon went berserk or anything, it was just that they are not used to their new strength and need to learn to control themselves as well as how much power to put into their attacks. It was harder for Lucario than it had been for Absol. At first he wasn't able to control the strength and power of his aura while Mega Evolved. It came to a point where he was almost afraid, though he would never admit it, to Mega Evolve after one time where he'd almost killed Sakura. He'd almost given up, but then his pride kicked in. Lucario refused to give up and he'd finally gotten it. When it came to Absol, it was mostly helping her to learn to control her new body and how to recognize how much power to put into her attacks so that she wouldn't fatally injure someone on accident.

She felt Steven come up on her other side and sit down. Sakura looked at him and smiled, though you could tell that she was tense. He asked, "What's on your mind, Sakura?" She sighed. He knew her too well. She simply sat there in silence for awhile before she answered, "I was just thinking about what might happen if one of those Mega Stones is for one of your partners."

"Why? What might happen?"

"When Lucario first started Mega Evolving, he couldn't control his aura. It took at least a month and half before he was able to control it. And I'm not saying that that's what is going to happen. It was a little easier for Absol," she explained, "She just needed some time to adjust to it and learn power output control. But then again it's different for everyone."

"That powerful?" he asked, quirking an eyebrow as she nodded. She then flared her aura to make sure that they were alone. Once she ascertained that they were indeed alone, she pulled her bag closer to her, got her pouch, and pulled out one if the Mega Stones out of the hidden pocket. The stone was small and blue with a gold and silver double helix symbol. Sakura's mouth quirked when she realized who this was for and she was nervous.

"Sakura? What is it? What's wrong?" Steven asked, looking at her worriedly. She just smiled and handed him the stone as she spoke, "Nothing is wrong, Steven. I just realized that the aura coming off that stone is reaching out to the aura coming off of your Metagross. That Mega Stone is Metagrossite."

"Metagross can Mega Evolve?" he asked incredulously. Sakura nodded and replied, "Apparently. Dad doesn't have an accurate accounting of all of the Pokémon capable of Mega Evolution. All we know is that there are many. There's still so much that we don't know."

"Are you able to recognize any of the others?" he asked. Pulling out another of the Mega Stones, this one was yellow with a black and red double helix. Looking at her Combusken, Sakura realized that Combusken's aura was reaching out for the aura coming off of Mega Stone in her hand, though it was being blocked, and knew which one it was, since she'd already researched both Combusken and Marshtomp's evolved forms. Sakura sighed and said, "This one is Blazikenite. Combusken's aura is reaching out for it, but it's being blocked, probably because she hasn't evolved yet."

Pulling out another, this one was blue with a black and red double helix. She saw her Marshtomp's aura reaching for the aura coming off of it, but like Combusken, it was being blocked. Speaking again, she said, "This is Swampertite. The same thing is happening with Marshtomp and more than likely for the same reason." Having pulled out the last three, one of them was a light green with a darker green and red double helix, which she did not recognize, but the other was lavender with a double helix in two shades of grey. While she looked at it, she saw her Aron's aura reaching for it, but being blocked and she knew in that instant what this one was, since Steven had told her all about Aron and its evolved forms. Looking at him, she spoke for the last time, "The green one I don't recognize, but the other is Aggronite." She then handed the Aggronite to Steven since she knew that he had one and kept the others for safe keeping.

Putting the others away, she spoke, "We need to get back. We'll figure the rest out later." Steven nodded, still a little in shock, and they pack up their stuff, recalled their Pokémon, and headed back to town. It was late afternoon to early evening by the time that they returned and Sakura debated going to the gym that day. In the end, she decided not to since she was tired and too wrung out to pay attention to a battle. She was too tired to even go through with her nightly before bed routine. She just went into her room, fell onto her bed and went to sleep, Lucario not too far behind her. Sakura didn't even bother to get into her pajamas.

Steven chuckled as he watched the woman he loved basically crash. He knew that she was exhausted. Though she tried to hide it, he had known that she was tired. She was okay on the trip up the mountain, but the trip back had wiped her out. Sighing, he helped her to take off her shoes and tucked her into the blankets. He then leaned over and kissed her forehead. Pulling back, he said, "Sweet dreams, Sakura," before moving away and going to sit on his bed. He sat there for awhile, just staring at the Mega Stones that Sakura had given him. He was also thinking about the warning she'd given him at the same time. He'd kind of figured that his partner would need to learn to control their new bodies and abilities, but the way she said it indicated that something else could happen. He guessed that something happened when Lucario first started Mega Evolving, but he also figured that it was something that Sakura didn't want to talk about. He'd wait for her to come to him about it, though it was hard being patient. It was always difficult to be patient when it came to anything involving Sakura. Sighing, he returned the Mega Stones to his pocket and went to sleep.

HOSHOSHOSHOSHOSHOSHOSHOSHOSHOSHOS

When Sakura woke the next morning, the sun was just staring to come over the horizon. Looking at the clock, she realized that it was around eight o'clock and she was starving. She imagined that it was from not eating dinner the morning before and since she hadn't eaten dinner, her Pokémon hadn't either and figured that they'd be hungry by now. So she then went into the bathroom and took a shower, washing her hair with her favorite cherry blossom scented shampoo. Once she came out, she lathered on the matching lotion and got dressed. She came out of the bathroom pulling on her fingerless gloves just as Steven was waking up. She waited while he got ready.

Once he was they went down to the cafeteria go breakfast together. They didn't say much as they gathered their food and fed their partners. The two trainers ate in silence, neither sure what to say. Sakura decided that she couldn't take the silence and asked, "So what is our next move?" Steven sighed and replied, "First, you're going to your gym battle. We'll have plenty of time to help Metagross on the way to the next gym." Sakura just looked at him in shock and then started shaking her head, while smiling. Typical Steven. He was always thinking of her first.

"If that's the case, then I need to do my meditation session before we go," she replied. He nodded and they went to the battlefield behind the Center. They let out their partners and began meditating. Over the course of the last week, the bond between Steven and Metagross as well as Steven's bond with his faithful Skarmory had grown stronger as they meditated together. Skarmory had even come to like Sakura and would happily nuzzle her head when let out of his Pokéball. They sat there for about an hour before something teased Sakura's aura senses, reaching for Steven. She couldn't tell what it was, so she got up to investigate. On the ground by the trunk of a tree, she found a Pokémon egg. It was a blue, the same color blue as the fur on Sakura's Riolu before he evolved, with a couple of black stripes on the shell. Panicking, Sakura gathered the egg in her arms and carried it back. She could hazard a guess as to what Pokémon might be in the egg, but by the aura, she could tell that this egg wasn't meant to be with her, but her beloved friend and travel companion.

Coming out of the overgrowth to see Steven looking worried, she pushed the egg into his arms and told him to take it to Nurse Joy for a check up. They both took off and once Nurse Joy proclaimed that the egg was doing just fine and should hatch, by her estimate, sometime in the next few months. Sakura gave Steven her old incubator and put a Cherish Ball on the lid, thankful that she'd thought to keep it. When Steven asked why she'd given it to him, she told him that she felt the aura of the Pokémon inside reaching for his, but because Steven didn't have aura sense like she did, he didn't feel it. What Sakura didn't tell him was that she suspected what Pokémon was in the egg, due to it being only a theory and she didn't want him to be disappointed if she was wrong. Once that was taken care of and they'd eaten lunch, the two trainers headed off towards the gym.

Just as they were about to go in, they were approached by a young trainer named Wally, who asked to battle Sakura. He told her that he wanted to prove to his uncle that he had what it took to be a trainer. Sakura smiled as she let out Vulpix and Wally let out his Ralts. Seeing the little Pokémon made Sakura nostalgic, remembering when she'd caught both of her Ralts, who'd eventually evolved first into Kirlia and then into a Gardevoir and a Gallade respectively. Wally started things off with ordering Ralts to use Magical Leaf. Ralts complied and raised its hands above its head, then brought them forward and released multiple glowing light green leaves from its hands at Vulpix. Sakura ordered, "Vulpix, use Flamethrower!" Vulpix obeyed and released a stream of fire out of it's mouth, destroying the leaves and striking Ralts. Ralts was sent back several feet. Wally told it to use Confusion. It complied and closed its eyes and a wave of psychic energy forced Vulpix back.

"Okay, Vulpix, let's try out your new move, Will-o-Wisp!" Sakura called out.

"Vulpix!" the little fox Pokémon cried out as she complied and three balls of blue fire appeared. She then launched them at Ralts, sending the little Feeling Pokémon back into a wall. Though you could tell that Ralts had taken some damage, it was still able to stand up. Wally then ordered Ralts to use Magical Leaf once more. Sakura chuckled, impressed by the boy's exuberance, called out, "Flame Charge!" Immediately Vulpix's body was surrounded by flames and she charged at Ralts, destroying the leaves and burning Ralts as it was once again forced into the wall, though this time it didn't get back up. Wally sighed sadly and his shoulders drooped as Sakura approached with a berry in her hand, Vulpix wrapped around her shoulders. Placing one of her hands on Wally's shoulder, she handed him the berry and told him, "Here, Wally. Give this to Ralts. It's a Rawst Berry. It'll help with its burn. And don't give up. You have what it takes to be a great trainer." Wally looked up at her with a grateful smile before he gave the Rawst Berry to Ralts before recalling him to his Pokéball and Sakura and Steven went into the gym.

Walking in she saw an older man talking with a younger one and figured that one of them must be the gym leader. The older man looked up as they approached and smiled when he saw Steven. He said, "Steven, my boy, so good to see you."

"It is good to see you as well, Wattson. I'm here because my friend would like to challenge you to a battle," Steven replied. Sakura then stepped forward, holding out her hand as she spoke, " I'm very glad to meet you, Mr. Wattson. I'm Sakura Simmons from Lumiose City." He took her hand and replied, "Ah, such manners. Such a pity that you don't see that so much anymore. Lumiose City, you say? Isn't that in the Kalos region?"

Sakura nodded, happily, and said, "Yes, and it's also home to an electric type gym. The gym leader, Clement, is a very good friend of mine." Wattson threw his head back and laughed before leading her to the field while Steven took a seat in the stands. Sakura recalled Vulpix and Lucario to their Pokéballs just in case, though they weren't happy about it. The young man that Wattson had just been speaking with, who introduced himself as Watt, was commandeered to be the referee. He sighed and took his place, then he spoke, "This is a battle between Mauville Gym Leader, Wattson, and the Challenger, Sakura Simmons of Lumiose City. This will be a three on three match. Furthermore, only the Challenger may substitute Pokémon. Release your Pokémon!" Wattson let out his Voltorb. Sakura sighed and cried,"Aron, let's show them what we're made of!" tossing Aron's Pokéball and releasing him. She then pulled out her Pokédex and scanned Wattson's Pokémon.

 _"Voltorb, the Ball Pokémon. This mysterious Pokémon uses strong Electric attacks, and is often found near power plants. Use extreme caution; Voltorb may explode without warning. This Voltorb is male and has the ability Soundproof."_

Battle Begin!" Watt called out.

"Use Thunderbolt!" Wattson ordered. Voltorb complied, sending out a strong stream of electricity at Aron, who absorbed the attack, but took no damage. Sakura smirked, and ordered, "Aron, use Iron Tail!" He complied with her order and ran towards Voltorb, faster than one would think he would be, his tail taking a metallic shine before slamming into Voltorb. Voltorb let out a cry of pain as he was hit by the attack, shoving him backwards. It looked like he was having trouble. Wattson then orders Voltorb to use Electro Ball. Voltorb's body began to glow as he formed a ball of electricity, which he launched at Aron. When it hit Aron, the force of the attack sent him backwards. Sakura then ordered,"Use Headbutt!" Aron put his head down and charged at Voltorb. Wattson tried to tell him to dodge, but Aron was too fast and landed a hit on Voltorb, throwing him into the wall, where he didn't move again. Seeing that Voltorb was unconscious, Watt called out, "Voltorb is unable to battle. Aron is the winner!"

"Good wor..." Sakura started to congratulate Aron when he began to glow with white light. His body got bigger and longer. When the light went away, a whole new Pokémon was left behind. It was a stocky, armored, Pokémon with four short legs. Its body was dark gray, and its eyes are sky blue. Its back was covered with segments of iron armor, each with a high ridge and round dark holes on the sides. The sides of its lower jaw had several flat protrusions, and two teeth are visible in its mouth. There are two pronged metal bands on its legs. The upper band was gray and the lower was silver. Sakura once again pulled out her Pokédex and scanned her new Pokémon.

 _"Lairon, the Iron Armor Pokémon. It digs up iron ore for food, and smashes its steely body up against others in battles over territory. This Lairon is male and has the ability Sturdy. Upon evolution, Lairon has learned Iron Defense, Heavy Slam, Stone Edge, and Aerial Ace."_

Wattson let out his Magnemite and Watt called for the battle to resume. Wattson told Magnemite to use Sonicboom while Sakura told Lairon to use Iron Defense. Lairon's body becomes outlined in light blue and its body briefly shines, increasing Lairon's defense as the attack hit. Sakura then ordered Lairon to use Stone Edge. Lairon's eyes began to glow blue as rocks appeared all around his body in a circle and then he launched them at Magnemite, who took several hits and forced it back. Before Wattson could order a counter attack, Sakura ordered, "Use Iron Tail!" Lairon took off, and slammed Magnemite with his tail, throwing it onto the ground. Once the dust cleared, it was clear that Magnemite wasn't going to be able to get up, so Watt called out, "Magnemite is unable to battle. Lairon in the winner." Sakura, seeing how Lairon was breathing heavily, recalled him to his Pokéball and released Marshtomp. Wattson brought out his Electrike. Never having seen this Pokémon before Sakura pulled out her Pokédex and scanned it.

 _"Electrike, the Lightning Pokémon. Using the electric charge stored in its fur, it can run faster than the eye can follow. This Electrike is male and has the ability Static."_

"Marshtomp, use Mud Shot!" Sakura ordered. Marshtomp fired a stream of mud at Electrike from his mouth, tripping the little dog and sending it backwards. Wattson ordered Electrike to use Hidden Power. Electrike opened its mouth and formed a light blue ball of energy in front of it and it prepared to fire the ball at Marshtomp, who Sakura told to counter with Ice Beam. A light blue ball appeared inside of Marshtomp's mouth. He then fired light blue beams at Electrike, cutting off Electrike's attack and throwing him backwards, one of his legs partially frozen. With Electrike practically paralyzed, Wattson once again called for Hidden Power, but Sakura ordered Marshtomp to use Brick Break. One of Marshtomp's arms began to glow white and he made a running leap to get above Electrike, who was still charging his attack, and he karate chopped Electrike.

Once the dust settled, everyone could see that Electrike had feinted, making Watt call out, "Electrike is unable to battle. Marshtomp is the winner. And that means that victory goes to Sakura Simmons of Lumiose City!" Sakura closed her eyes and sighed as Lucario burst out of his Pokéball on his own, not wanting to stay in there longer than he had to, and Marshtomp did a little victory dance on the field, making Sakura laugh quietly before she returned him. Steven came down and gave her a hug as he said, "Congratulations."

Sakura grinned at him, her eyes sparkling, unknowingly making his heart skip a beat. Sakura looked up as Wattson approached with an all too familiar box in his hand, and a smile on his face as he spoke, "That was a good battle, little lady. It is my pleasure to award you the Dynamo Badge," and he took it out of the box and placed it in her hand. She smiled as she placed it in her badge case. Once she pit her badge case away, Sakura turned back to Wattson, put her hands together in front of her, and bowed to him as she said, "Thank you for the battle." He bowed back and with that, Sakura, Lucario, and Steven went to leave the gym, but Wattson stopped them by saying, "Sakura, I was wondering if I might ask a favor of you." Turning back, Sakura asked, "What is it, Mr. Wattson?"

He turned to Watt who had brought out another Electrike, though it was obvious that it didn't want to be there since it kept wiggling trying to get Watt to let it go, and he set it on the ground by Wattson's feet. This one was different than Wattson's Electrike as this one was blue with yellow accents rather than green. Sakura expected the little Pokémon to run as soon as its feet met the floor, but it stood there looking up at her curiously as Wattson replied, "I found this Electrike about two months ago, chewing on power cables. She was in really bad shape and I think she was abandoned. She doesn't seem to like it here, so I was hoping that maybe she might be happier traveling with you." Sakura pulled out her Pokédex and scanned her.

 _"Electrike, the Lightning Pokémon. Using the electric charge stored in its fur, it can run faster than the eye can follow. This Electrike is female and has the ability Lightening Rod. Please note that the unusual coloration of this Pokémon indicates that it is a Shiny Pokémon."_

Sakura got down on her knees and looked the Electrike in her eyes. She opened her aura sense and read Electrike's aura. Determination to be the best, distrust of trainers, and yet she was hopeful for a better future. She gently pulled some of her aura into her hand and laid it gently on Electrike's head, letting her see inside her heart. Sakura felt Electrike's surprise, and happiness. Maybe, just maybe she had found a trainer who would never abandon her like her previous one had. Sakura smiled as she sensed Electrike's decision and gathered Electrike in her arms and told Wattson, "I would be happy to bring Electrike along with me, Mr. Wattson. I promise I'll take good care of her."

Wattson smile happily and told her, "I'm glad." Sakura pulled out a green Friend Ball and gently tapped Electrike with it. She disappeared inside of it and the ball shook twice before dinging. Sakura smiled as she, Lucario, and Steven said their goodbyes to Wattson and Watt and went back to the Pokémon Center. As it was now coming into the middle of the afternoon, the two trainers decided that they would stay one more night at the Pokémon Center. Sakura dropped off the three that had battled that day with Nurse Joy to make sure they weren't hurt during battle and went out back with the others, while Steven went on an errand of his own.

When she'd asked, he told her that it would be a surprise and she'd just shook her head. As she stood on the battlefield, Sakura released all of her Pokémon but Electrike. Looking over her partners, she said, "I want to introduce you all to the newest member of our family," and with that she released Electrike, who stood sheepishly by her feet, looking with wide eyes at the others as Sakura continued, "Everyone, this is Electrike. Electrike, meet everyone." The first to make a move was Pichu, who bounded over to her fellow electric type and began a conversation with her. Sakura watched with pride for a few moments before she pulled out her Pokédex and looked through the information on her new Electrike and was surprised to find that she knew several moves including Thunderbolt, Thunder Wave, Quick Attack, Spark, and Thunder Fang. This meant that she was due to evolve soon. She smiled as all the others gathered around and they started their training routines. This night she had Pichu working with Electrike, helping Pichu learn Thunderbolt. She had been starting to get it, but with Electrike's help, she was finally able to master it. Sakura then started teaching Electrike Iron Tail. It was a useful move that had saved her butt many times over.

Once it started to get dark, she recalled all of her partners, but Lucario, Pichu, who sat on her shoulder, and Electrike, who she intended to let stay out of her Pokéball for a little while so that they could bond, walking along beside her. She then headed off to dinner. Sakura looked around for Steven and saw him with Metagross and Skarmory, already eating his dinner. Sakura noticed the arm band on one of Metagross's arms and fashioned into it was the Metagrossite that she'd given him. Sighing, she figured that that was what Steven's errand was about as she gathered her own dinner of roast beef, mashed potatoes and gravy, corn, and a glass of iced tea. Sitting down across from Steven, she released the rest of her partners and gave them their dinner before digging into her own. As she ate, Sakura peeked over at Metagross's arm band and said in a low tone, "We're going to need to find a safe place, with few to no people, to work with Metagross. It took nearly two months to work with Absol and Lucario respectively, but as I've said before, it's different for everyone."

Steven didn't answer for a few minutes before he said, "There's a desert on Route 111 that we have to travel through to get to Lavaridge for your next gym. We could do it there." Sakura made a noise of agreement and went back to her food. Steven sighed in relief that she wasn't going to ask anymore about his errand. He put his hand on top of the box in his pocket. He hadn't intended on getting the ring, but once he saw the sterling silver ring with a blue sapphire that matched Sakura's eyes, he couldn't help himself. After all, he did intend on marrying her someday, but he had to let her know how he felt first.

The next morning, Sakura and Steven gathered all of the supplies that they would need for several months in the desert, with Steven paying for it. He insisted on it since it was his fault that they were going to spend at least that long in the desert. However, anything that Sakura got for herself, she insisted that she pay for it herself. Then they were off, heading towards Route 111. It took them several days, but in the end they reached it. Over the course of those days, many trainers had challenged Sakura to battle and she'd won all of them. As time went by, all of her Pokémon became much stronger as well as the bond with her new Electrike, who'd learned Electro Ball as had Pichu. Her Swablu had learned Steel Wing, Take Down, Safeguard, Ice Beam, Cotton Guard, and Mirror Move. It would seem that everything was going just fine when they reached the desert. Once they got there, they found an isolated area where they set up camp.

She then set about telling Steven everything that she knew about Mega Evolution and told him to release Metagross, which he did. She then let out Absol and pressed two fingers to her Key Stone. Immediately streams of energy erupted from Sakura's Key Stone and the Absolite around Absol's neck. When the streams of energy met, Absol was engulfed in bright light and her body began changing. Once the light went away, a differently looking Absol appeared as the Mega Evolution symbol appeared in front of her before disappearing. Her fur was longer overall, and the increased energy coursing through her body made the fur at the back of its mane stand on end, so that she appeared to have wings. The spikes on her heels and elbows grow larger, and the fur in those areas became longer as well. Her sickle-shaped horn widened, while an additional, smaller horn appeared on the opposite side of her head. Her tail now had a more saw-like shape, and the oval marking on her forehead was now a rounded triangle.

Steven looked at Mega Absol with awe in his eyes and his heart pounded as he took his lapel pin in his hand. He then pressed two fingers to his Key Stone and the same thing happened as streams of energy emerged from his Key Stone and the Metagrossite. When the streams met, Metagross began to glow with a bright white light and his body began changing. Once the light disappeared, a whole new Metagross was left behind as the symbol for Mega Evolution appeared and disappeared. Mega Metagross was constantly floating, and his legs became arms. The gold cross on his face turned blue, and it gained two small holes and a spike immediately below the cross, giving the impression of a goatee.

Looking over Mega Metagross with a critical eye, Sakura said, "Why don't we have a battle? It might help Metagross adjust." Steven nodded and ordered Mega Metagross to use Flash Cannon. A white orb of energy with light blue energy formed in between Mega Metagross's front claws, and it fired a white beam of energy with light blue energy from it at Mega Absol. Sakura ordered Mega Absol to dodge and she herself got out of the way. She then ordered Mega Absol to use Megahorn. Mega Absol's horn began to glow green and it grew in size. Then she slashed Mega Metagross with it, shoving him backwards before retreating. Steven then ordered Mega Metagross to use Meteor Mash.

Mega Metagross's body began to glow blue as he tucked in his four arms. He then pointed them at Mega Absol and began charging her while spinning in a clockwise motion, with a blue aura around him. Sakura called out for Mega Absol to jump up into the air and use Dark Pulse. Just as Mega Metagross would have crashed into her, she jumped into the air and while she was there, Mega Absol opened her mouth and a light purple orb surrounded in black and purple circles appears inside of it. She then fires a beam of black and purple circles from the orb inside its mouth at Mega Metagross, throwing him back into a sand dune, where he landed hard. Then a light formed around him and he returned to being Metagross. Mega Absol also returned to her previous form. Steven ran over to Metagross to see that he was getting himself up, but looked exhausted. He sighed in relief that his friend was okay as Sakura handed him an Oran Berry.

"Not bad for his first time," Sakura told him, "It looks like all we really need to do is teach him output control. If we don't, he could badly hurt or kill someone without meaning to." Steven nodded as he gave Metagross the Oran Berry, restoring his energy. He'd known that this wouldn't be easy.

HOSHOSHOSHOSHOSHOSHOSHOSHOSHOSHOS

They spent the next six and a half months in the desert perfecting Metagross's control of his Mega Evolution. He was doing a lot better. After their supplies had run out, they'd had to return to Mauville City to get more. In that time, Swablu had evolved into Altaria and Electrike had evolved into Manectric. Altaria had learned Dragon Pulse, Perish Song, Moonblast, and Dazzling Gleam. Sakura was now trying to teach her Dragon Breath. Manectric had learned Wild Charge, Protect, Electric Terrain, and Discharge. Now they were working on Thunder along with Pichu. Both Manectric and Pichu have learned Charge Beam. Pichu also learned Wild Charge, Protect, Double Team, and Shock Wave. Sakura knew that it was only a matter of time until Pichu evolved since every time she checked Pichu's aura, she could feel the pulses of power that usually indicated that the Pokémon was due to evolve soon. Now that Pichu was just over six months old, she had been changed over to regular Pokémon food.

Marshtomp and Combusken had just recently evolved into Swampert and Blaziken. Sakura didn't immediately give them their Mega Stones since she wanted them to learn to control what they had already first. Swampert had learned Protect, Take Down, Hammer Arm, and Water Pulse. Blaziken learned Blaze Kick, Flare Blitz, Power Up Punch, and Focus Blast. The others had grown much stronger too. Vulpix learned Safeguard, Extrasensory, Fire Blast, and Heat Wave while Mightyena learned Assurance, Take Down, Dark Pulse, and Shadow Ball. Lairon learned Double Team, Hidden Power, Earthquake, and Shock Wave while Milotic learned Hydro Pump, Recover, Safeguard, and Icy Wind. Even Lucario and Absol had gotten stronger and faster. Both of them had even learned a few new moves themselves. Lucario learned Flash Cannon, courtesy of working with Metagross, Focus Blast, and Poison Jab while Absol learned Night Slash, Will-o-Wisp, and Charge Beam.

Steven, Metagross, and Skarmory now joined Sakura and her Pokémon in their training at Sakura's insistence since she'd told him, _"You need to train yourself just as hard as you train your Pokémon."_ They've all gotten much stronger and faster. Sakura had even started teaching Steven martial arts. He was a natural. At first, he'd been reluctant, but she bluntly told him that no matter how much Metagross might adore him, if Metagross exceeds his skill level as a trainer, he'll stop listening to him, respecting him, or both. Steven had quickly learned to be up by dawn or get a Hydro Pump or Water Pulse from either Milotic or Swampert respectively in the face or shocked by a Thunderbolt from either Manectric or Pichu, much to his Pokémon and Sakura's amusement. By this time, everyone had improved and the bonds between them and their Pokémon, as well as the bond between the two of them, had only gotten stronger. So strong, in fact, that nothing could sever them. It even appeared that Steven's egg was close to hatching.

Now the two trainers were flying to Lavaridge Town on the back of Steven's Skarmory. However, they got side tracked by seeing several Team Magma grunts near what Steven said was Meteorite Falls. It looked like they were harassing a scientist into giving them something. They were forced to watch as the Magma jerks beat on the poor scientist and ran off with whatever they had wanted. Sakura told Steven to call for an ambulance as she went down to see if there was anyway for her to help. Getting down on her knees, Sakura pulled out her first aid kit and began bandaging his wounds while he told her that Team Magma had wanted the Meteorite and were taking it to Mt. Chimney for what purpose he hadn't known The two trainers made sure that the scientist, who introduced himself as Professor Cosmo, made it to a hospital and went to Mt. Chimney to figure out what Team Magma was up to.

They battled their way through the Team Magma grunts and they separated as they tried to find the machine that Team Magma was using to try to awaken the volcano. Lucario had gotten tired, so Sakura recalled him to his Pokéball. While she'd been walking around, she found another Mega Stone, though she had no idea how it had gotten there. Not having time to figure it out, Sakura quickly stowed it into her backpack with the others and moved on. She ended up in what looked like a control room when, thanks to her aura enhanced senses, she heard footsteps coming her way. Not sure who it was, since she knew that it wasn't Steven, she quickly took off her Key Stone necklace and put it in her skirt pocket. She regained on her guard as a man entered. He was wearing the typical Team Magma red jacket with a hood with spikes on it, but this guy carried himself with pride and self importance. This guy was no grunt. He then demanded, "Did you really think that you could stop us, little girl? Us! The great Team Magma!"

"I don't see anything that's great. Insane, maybe, but not great," Sakura sneered at him. He growled as he smacked her across the face before she could blink, snarling that no one spoke in such a way to Team Magma Admin Tabitha. Gritting her teeth, Sakura thought, _"This guy has anger management issues."_ She could feel a bruise forming on her cheek, but didn't have time to dwell on it as he began punching and kicking her until she lay on her side, making no noise with every hit. She refused to give him the satisfaction of seeing her cry or let him see that he hurt her. In all truth, her Lucario or her Blaziken hit harder than he did. It was only the sheer number of hits and the places he hit that caused the pain. Getting pissed off, Sakura swept her legs through his, knocking him onto the ground. She then got up as he did, but he didn't have any time to react before she punched him in the face, knocking him out.

She then left, as she went she put her Key Stone necklace back on, and let Pichu out of her Pokéball and she jumped onto Sakura's shoulder. Pichu had been horrified when she saw her beloved trainer's bruised face. After all, Sakura was the only mother the Tiny Mouse Pokémon knew and she loved Sakura dearly, as dearly as Pichu knew that Sakura loved her. Pichu had wanted to find the one who had done that to her and slam them with Iron Tail several times until they got the point. Sakura knew that Steven was not going to be happy when he saw her. It would be worth the lecture as long as they both made it out of here safely. They met up just outside another room where she could see that Maxie was. He'd taken one look at her face and his face darkened with anger as he demanded, "What happened and who did that to you?"

"Team Magma Admin Tabitha. Apparently I sassed him and he took offense," she replied sarcastically, though she had an annoyed look on her face. Steven gritted his teeth angrily. How dare he raise his hands to Sakura! The two friends quickly confronted Maxie who started a battle. Sakura used Pichu and Steven used Metagross. Maxie used his Mightyena who he ordered to use Dark Pulse. Mightyena opened its mouth and a light purple orb surrounded in black and purple circles appears inside it. It then fired a beam of black and purple circles from the orb inside its mouth at Metagross, but Sakura ordered Pichu to use Protect on her and Metagross. Pichu jumped in front of Metagross and created a barrier around the both of them, making Mightyena's attack bounce off. Steven then called out for Metagross to use Flash Cannon while Sakura ordered Pichu to use Thunderbolt. Metagross fired a white beam of energy with light blue energy at the opponent while Pichu's cheeks began sparking and it's body was consumed with electricity as it shot a stream of it at Mightyena. The lightening then combined with Metagross's Flash Cannon as they struck Mightyena, knocking it out. As Maxie was about to speak, Pichu began to glow. Her body become taller and wider.

When the glow went away, it left behind a short, chubby rodent Pokémon. It was covered in yellow fur, and its ears were long and pointed with black tips. It had a small mouth, brown eyes, and two red circles on its cheeks. It's forearms were short, with five fingers on each paw, and its feet had three toes. It had two brown stripes on its back, and its tail was in the shape of a lightning bolt with a patch of brown fur at the base. It had a V-shaped notch at the end of its tail, which looked like the top of a heart. This Pokémon could be classified as a quadruped, but it looked like it could stand and walk on its hind legs as well. Sakura pulled out her Pokédex and scanned her new Pokémon.

 _"Pikachu, the Mouse Pokémon, and the evolved form of Pichu. Pikachu's tail is sometimes struck by lightning as it raises it to check its surroundings. This Pikachu is female and has the ability Lightening Rod. Upon evolution, Pikachu has learned Discharge, Slam, Agility, and Brick Break."_

Maxie was going to open his mouth to say something sarcastic, but then he took a good look at the pink haired girl who was opposing him. He knew that he'd seen her face before, but could not place where. It wasn't until he looked into her eyes and he knew. He'd seen those eyes on only one other person: Corey Simmons, the former gym leader for the Petalburg Gym. Now that he thought about it, the girl bore a remarkable resemblance to the former gym leader's wife, Emma. If he remembered correctly, the couple had had a child who would be about this girl's age.

He had not been in charge of Team Magma then, but he remembered the stir that their deaths had caused, especially since he knew for a fact that the team leader before him had something to do with it. Also if he recalled correctly, the gym leader's daughter had been sent to the Kalos region. The Team Magma leader shook his head at those thoughts and released his Golbat, but it quickly fell with a Volt Tackle from the girl's Pikachu and a Metal Claw from the boy's Metagross, and his Camerupt fell with a combination attack of Flash Cannon and Thunderbolt. How these trainers came to be so strong, he'd never know, but he ordered a retreat and as he and his followers left, he thought about that girl. He'd have to keep an eye on her.

Once the meteorite was just taken away, Steven insisted on getting Sakura to the Pokémon Center to get checked out. The Lavaridge Nurse Joy told them that she had some bruised ribs and would need to rest for awhile, but other than that she was fine. He'd been sitting by her bed, just watching her sleep when a beeping noise started going off. His eyes widened as he realized that his egg was hatching. Sakura opened her eyes at the noise and though he told her not to, she got up with a wince and followed him when he went to get Nurse Joy, who jumped into action to get everything ready.

Moments later, Steven was in a room alone with his egg and a Pokéball in his hand, waiting for it to hatch. The glowing started to stop and a cracking noise filled the air as the egg formed into a Pokémon. This Pokémon was a small, blue, canine Pokémon. It had black legs and torso, a blue tail, and a yellow collar. It had rounded bumps on the backs of its forepaws and a black "mask" and red eyes. Nurse Joy gasped as she spoke, "I've never seen a Pokémon like that."

"I have," Sakura replied, making Nurse Joy look at her as she continued, "It's a Riolu, the unevolved form of Lucario. I had a feeling it would be this one." Sakura watched as Steven met the little Riolu's eyes. She smiled. Of course, they're Soul Partners. It had been exactly like this when she'd first met Lucario. Steven then looked up and asked, "Sakura, can you come in here? I need to borrow your Pokédex for a minute." Chuckling, Sakura slowly walked in, not wanting to scare Riolu, and she pulled out her Pokédex and scanned it.

 _"Riolu, the Emanation Pokémon. When sad or scared, Riolu's aura becomes stronger as a way of signaling its allies. This Riolu is female and has the ability Steadfast."_

Nurse Joy also came in and pronounced that Riolu was in perfect health as well as instructing Steven on Riolu's diet for the first several weeks, and Steven then caught her, still a little bit in shock as they returned to their room. He then released Riolu who looked around the room and went and stood in front of Lucario for several moments before she settled into a meditative pose similar to Lucario's. For a little while, Steven and Sakura said nothing until Sakura spoke, "She'll need to train with Lucario for awhile." Steven looked at her and asked, "Why?"

"Steven, Lucario evolves from Riolu. It means that Riolu has the same ability to use aura and since she's a baby, she doesn't have anyone else to teach her the way Lucario did," she told him, "In other words, Riolu needs to train with Lucario in how to use her aura correctly in order to not hurt herself or others by accident." Steven nodded understanding as she continued, "I would also suggest keeping her out of his Pokéball. When Lucario first started staying with me, he stayed out so we could build on our bond. He'd stay in his Pokéball for a little bit, but he hated it." Steven nodded as he took a big breath and said, "This is my first time taking care of a baby Pokémon."

"Don't worry. I'll help you and you'll be a pro in no time!" Sakura said, giving him a bright smile, making it almost impossible not to smile back. She was already communicating with Lucario, working on how to train Steven's Riolu. Lucario would start to work with her while she was healing from Mt. Chimney and not just working on the aura aspects of it. Lucario had been with Sakura for so long, that he understood and could implement her training strategies himself. In fact, she'd broken her leg while they were traveling in Sinnoh and the whole time that she was healing, Lucario had taken to training her team. Sakura sighed and said, "You better get to sleep. Until my ribs heal, you and the others are going to be training with Lucario."

"How is he any worse than you?!" Steven asked, his eyes wide. She didn't take any insult from it, because it was obvious that he was jesting with her. Sakura locked eyes with Lucario, who had peeked over at her from where he was sitting with Steven's Riolu on the floor, and they grinned at each other before she replied, "Who do you think trained him?" Both Lucario and Sakura began snickering since the feelings in Steven's aura were not matching up with the horrified look on his face. He was, in fact, excited about the idea. He then laughed himself as he asked, "How is he able to do that?"

"Lucario and I are Soul Partners. I'm sure that you've seen how close we are and how similar our personalities are. It's because we're meant to be partners. It's the same with you and Riolu," Sakura explained, "It's why when I found Riolu's egg, his aura was reaching out for you, because he could sense that his partner was nearby, but you couldn't feel it due to the fact that you don't have the aura sense. Being a Soul Partner is a bond unlike any other. It is unbreakable and it's for life." She then looked over at Lucario with a fond look on her face as she continued, "Soul Partners are rare. I guess you could say that we're some of the lucky few. I couldn't imagine my life without Lucario or any of my other Pokémon in it. Not only that, he's been with me so long, that he understands and can implement my training strategies. He's already done it once."

"What do you mean?"

"When we were traveling through Sinnoh, I had a little bit of an accident and I broke my leg. It was just before the Lily of the Valley Conference. We still had a long way to go and I'd fallen down a hole dug by a Steelix. I was distraught because I thought that we were going to fall behind, because I was going to be held up for weeks waiting for my leg to heal, but Lucario stepped up and started training my team at the time. They all listened to him, because he was the oldest and had been with me the longest. Anyway, I still say we owe that Conference win to Lucario." Steven smiled and wished her a good night and they both went to sleep. Though, Sakura had a hard time getting to sleep, because of her ribs. As she tossed and turned, Vulpix burst out of her Pokéball and jumped onto the bed. She then slowly got on top of Sakura and curled up on her ribs, the heat of her body doing wonders for Sakura's ribs.

HOSHOSHOSHOSHOSHOSHOSHOSHOSHOSHOS

It was more than two weeks later before Sakura was able to move as she wanted to. During that time, Steven, his partners, and all of Sakura's other Pokémon began training with Lucario. It hadn't been much different than training with Sakura, only they received their instructions via Lucario's telepathy. Steven's Riolu spent a lot of one on one time with Lucario, learning how to use her aura. That wasn't the only thing that she learned. She had started out knowing only Foresight, Quick Attack, and Endure. She quickly learned Force Palm, Iron Tail, and Low Kick.

Riolu, when not training, was almost always at Steven's side or following Lucario around. Sakura had quickly learned that the little Emanation Pokémon looked up to the Aura Pokémon and wanted to be just as strong as him one day. Lucario had blushed when she started teasing him about it. It took awhile for her to get back to where she was, but a few training sessions and several spars with Lucario and Sakura was back in fighting shape. Once she was ready to get back into training, she focused somewhat on training with Milotic, Swampert, and Vulpix, as they would be the ones she used against Flannery, the Lavaridge Gym Leader, who was a fire type user.

It had been a few days since she'd gotten back on track that she felt it. As she went about her morning routine, she felt the steady gaze of someone watching her. She flared her aura and felt only the presence of a rather strong fire type Pokémon. The aura felt familiar, though she couldn't place where she'd felt it before. Why that Pokémon would be watching her, she had no idea, but she ignored it for the most part. It wasn't like they were doing anything but watching and she didn't feel threatened by it. Shaking her head, Sakura went back to what she was doing, preparing for her next gym battle.

The night before she was set to go to the gym as she was preparing for bed, Sakura finally remembered the Mega Stone that she found at Mt. Chimney. Gasping, which caused her to gain Steven's attention, she quickly pulled out the Mega Stone to look at it. Seeing the stone in Sakura's hand, Steven's eyes widened un surprised. The stone itself was yellow with a red and blue double helix. Opening her aura sense, she saw Manectric's aura reaching for the stone and the aura of the stone reaching back. Manectric, who had been laying at the end of Sakura's bed, came over and sniffed it.

"Where did you find that and do you recognize it?" Steven asked. Sakura looked up and replied, "I found it while at Mt. Chimney and yes, I do recognize it. It's Manectite. For Manectric." Manectric nuzzled her head against Sakura's hand while saying, "Mane, Manectric." Steven looked at Manectric and said in a slightly stunned tone, "So Manectric can Mega Evolve too."

"Apparently. I've also heard that the Kanto region's starter Pokémon in their final evolved forms can Mega Evolve too. At least I know Blastoise can since one of Siebold of the Kalos Elite Four has one. Gardevoir too since our Champion Diantha has one that can. I'm sure there are several others that I haven't heard of yet. It makes me wonder if Team Magma knew it was there or not. If they did, what in the name of Arceus were they doing with it?." He just shook his head since he didn't have any answers as she spoke to Manectric, "We're going to have to find some way for you to hold it, but not right now." She then put the Manectite away and went to bed. Steven sighed and went to sleep too, though Sakura had a point. Did Team Magma know that that Mega Stone was there? If so what were they planning on doing with it? What's more, what was up with the peculiar look that Maxie had given Sakura?

HOSHOSHOSHOSHOSHOSHOSHOSHOSHOSHOS

Sakura's Current Party (In Order of Capture)

1\. Lucario

2\. Absol

3\. Mightyena

4\. Blaziken

5\. Lairon

6\. Milotic

7\. Vulpix (Shiny)

8\. Altaria

9\. Swampert

10\. Manectric (Shiny)


End file.
